


Hit Like A Girl

by sadsongssaysomuch



Category: Actor RPF
Genre: F/M, Light Angst, Phone Sex, Softball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-29
Updated: 2014-09-08
Packaged: 2018-01-26 23:42:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 54,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1706870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadsongssaysomuch/pseuds/sadsongssaysomuch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life in a small town should have been simple, but for Felicia Ryan it was anything but. Felicia is stuck. Stuck in a small town, stuck running the diner that her aunts own. Stuck doing things to make extra money that she never pictured herself doing. When her small hometown becomes the topic and location for a movie starring her favorite actor, worlds collide and Felicia's life only becomes more complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Sebastian Stan (I wish), but all other characters, situations, places, etc. are products of my imagination. This isn't my first RPF, but it's my first Sebastian Stan RPF and the way I write him is based on some specific head-cannon I have about him.

                                                                         

Felicia Ryan leaned against the black Formica counter, halfheartedly wiping it with a rag even though it was already spotless, listening to two of her regular customers discussing a filming permit that had been filed with city hall. The diner was slow tonight and her aunts, Carla and Thelma, had already gone home. Felicia was stationed out front and their one full-time employee, Madison, was in the back running the kitchen. 

As she listened, Felicia could only think of one thing; if a movie did film in Ridgeville over the summer, it would mean an increase in business. She couldn’t resist the urge to smile. Summer was always their best season, they stayed open later and always drew in customers with their ice cream machine and air conditioning. But even over the summer there never seemed to be enough money coming in to really make a profit. The busy summer season meant hiring extra help, higher electric bills from running the air conditioner and even with the being non-stop busy most days it still left Felicia turning down drawing a weekly paycheck more often than not.

Felicia ran the rag across the counter one last time before coming around the counter to wipe down the booths. It was only seven o’clock but she didn’t think they’d be getting many more customers tonight. Besides, cleaning the booths and tables would give her an excuse to get closer to the conversation she wanted to overhear.

“It’s about time someone made a movie about our girls’ softball teams,” Kathleen Nevins said. Kathleen was a secretary, no an _administrative assistant,_ at city hall and always had the latest gossip.

“Not just the girls’ softball teams, but how girls’ softball got to be our sport here,” corrected Kathleen’s boyfriend, Mark Cooper. Mark was a patrol deputy so if Kathleen couldn’t tell you what was going on around town, he could. They made quite the couple.

Felicia nodded politely to Kathleen and Mark as she passed their table. She didn’t want to interrupt their conversation, just eavesdrop. She bent over the table in the booth behind them and made a show of scrubbing furiously at the table.

“I’m just glad it’s a Disney movie,” Kathleen said, “this way we shouldn’t have to worry about any sort of scandals. Disney always hires such wholesome actors.”

“All I know is that it means a lot of overtime. “ Mark shook his head authoritatively.  “We’ll have a lot of extra traffic to deal with and who knows what kinds of people will show up.”

Their conversation soon turned to what they wanted to do with all the money from the inevitable overtime Mark would get. Felicia rolled her eyes and moved on to another table _. It must be nice to plan to have extra money,_ she mused. All of the booths were clean, save for the one Kathleen and Mark were occupying.

Felicia looked out the door into the springtime dusk. There wasn’t much traffic and no one was turning into the parking lot of Home Plate. She went back to the kitchen where Madison was perched on a stool checking his cell phone.

“Hey boss lady,” he joked, looking up from his phone. “Got another order?”

Felicia shook her head. “No,” she said with a sigh. “Go ahead and turn off the grill and start cleaning up.”

Madison raised his eyebrows at her questioningly. “It’s not even eight yet,” he stated.

“I know, but it’s dead tonight. As soon as those two leave, I’ll come back and help you so we can get out of here. No sense hanging around if no one’s coming in.”

“Aye aye, Captain,” Madison saluted, hopping off the stool. He shoved his phone into his back pocket, and started flipping switches, to turn the grill and stove off.

Felicia walked back out to the front of the diner, trying not to sigh. She didn’t like the idea of closing early, even if it was only a half hour. But it didn’t make sense to stay open when no one was coming in. Mark and Kathleen were halfway out of the booth, having already paid their check a good 20 minutes ago. She smiled at them. “Have a good night, guys!”

Kathleen waved. “Thanks Felicia, you too.” Mark nodded in her direction and they went out the door arm in arm.

Felicia waited until the bell over the door had stopped tinkling before making sure she locked the front entrance and turning to their vacated booth. It was a mess and she really did need to scrub with her cleaning rag this time. “Some people,” she muttered, as she cleared away the glasses and plates left on the table.

“Seriously?” she exclaimed as she scooped her tip off the table, a limp, damp one-dollar bill and three quarters. “Thanks, maybe when you get that overtime pay you can afford to tip better.” She shoved the money into her apron pocket and took the dishes to the kitchen to wash.

As she pushed through the swinging door that led to the kitchen, she saw that Madison had nearly finished cleaning the kitchen for the night. Dumping the dishes in the sink, she turned on the hot water, dumping in a portion of soap. “Is this everything that needs washed up?” she questioned Madison.

“Yup,” he said, turning in a slow circle as he surveyed the kitchen. “I kept up with it all evening, since things were so slow.”

Felicia washed the dishes, operating on autopilot. She rinsed them and set them to dry before drying off her hands and wiping the back of her arm across her forehead. “Alright Madison, you can go. I’ll lock everything up and be out of here in just a few more minutes.”

Madison grinned, “See you in the morning, Fe.”

“Have a good night, Madison,” she said, letting him out the back kitchen door.

Felicia looked around the kitchen, giving it one last sweep, making sure the stove and grill were all off and that the cooler door had been shut tight. She double-checked that the back door she had just let Madison through was locked and flipped off the kitchen lights. Felicia surveyed the softball themed diner, with its décor that walked the line between kitschy and cool. Everything looked to be in order in so she turned off those lights and let herself out the front door. She made a mental note to sweep and mop around the booths in the morning before the diner opened. If she were lucky, one of her aunts would do it.

As Felicia drove home, her mind, for once, wasn’t on the diner or finances. Instead, she found herself thinking about the movie that would be filming in Ridgeville over the summer. She wondered if it was going to be one of those Disney documentary films, like the ones they did on nature. As big as softball was locally, Felicia couldn’t imagine that it would be a big box office draw. She made a note to see what she could dig up on the internet later.

After the short drive home, Felicia let herself into her trailer and stepped inside. Not bothering with the lights, she hung up her keys and purse and slipped off her shoes. It should have felt lonely, coming home to a quiet, dark trailer, but she liked the peace and quiet. Curling her toes into the carpet, she walked towards her bedroom.  There she did turn on the light, undressing and tossing each item into the hamper in the corner of the room as she removed it. After undressing, she checked the clock before going into the small bathroom and turning on the shower. She let the hot water run, quickly steaming up the bathroom mirror. She gathered her soap and shampoo and checked her reflection in the foggy mirror.

The face staring back at her looked tired, an all too familiar look. She had dark circles under her eyes, but those seemed to be there no matter how much sleep she got. She pulled her light brown hair out of its ponytail and let it fall in heavy waves around her shoulders.  Leaning close to the mirror, she swiped her hand across it to clear away the steam. She blinked her hazel eyes and wrinkled her nose. It didn’t matter how much she avoided the sun, she had a permanent swath of freckles across her nose. Even at 27, she was annoyed that they never went away.

Felicia stepped into the shower and let the warm water ease the tension out of her shoulders. Taking a shower was always a good way to clear her mind.

When she had finished showering, dried off and dressed in a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top, she settled into her favorite leather chair in front of her computer. As she waited for it to turn on she ran her fingers through her hair, letting it air dry.

She was pleased to see her friend Bev was online and wasted no time in messaging her. Bev lived in New Jersey, where her husband was stationed at Fort Dix. As she waited for a reply, she opened up a search window and typed in “Ridgeville Disney softball movie”.

A page of results popped up just as a notification dinged that Bev had messaged her back.

           Bev asked: _Hey girl, how was your day?_

Felicia quickly typed back before taking a look at her search results.

_Not bad, you know, same shit, different day. How about you?_  

She clicked on the first link and was taken to an entertainment news article. She skimmed it, noticing the mentions of girls’ softball and Ridgeville. As she scrolled down the page she caught a glimpse of a familiar name and had to scroll back up to see if she had imagined it. No, it wasn’t her imagination, there on her screen, in black and white was the name Sebastian Stan. Felicia’s heart skipped a beat. There was no way. No way was Sebastian Stan coming to Ridgeville. Another message notification from Bev dinged, startling Felicia.

          Bev’s message read: _Ugh, the twins were awful today. They were so wound up after school that even taking them to the park to let off steam didn’t help. They always act out when their dad is gone. I put them to bed but I know those little jerks aren’t asleep._

Felicia knew that Bev had her hands full with her seven-year-old twin boys. She took a moment to  go back and read over the article she had found again. The article didn't say much, it was fairly vague. Felicia modified her original search adding Sebastian Stan's name. A small blurb from an interview with him came up in the results. All he said was that he was excited for his next project and that it was something very different from any movie he'd ever done before and he hoped he could do the role justice.

Felicia smiled, she had no doubt that Sebastian could take on any character successfully. And, from past experience, she knew that even if the movie was awful, Sebastian would be gorgeous on screen.

Bev would freak out, she was a fan too and Felicia knew she would be jealous.

_Bev,_ she typed, I _just found out the most amazing thing. You will literally die._ She paused, waiting for her friend's response.

_Ok, what is it? Did a customer leave you a million dollar tip?_ Bev joked.

_I wish, but this is almost as good,_ Felicia answered. _Maybe better. There's a movie being filmed here in Ridgeville this summer and, prepare yourself, Sebastian Stan is starring in it!_

Felicia waited, impatiently, for her friend to process the information.

_Girl. Are you serious? That's amazing. You have to get me his autograph. And pictures, you will send tons of pictures!_

Felicia laughed. She couldn't imagine going up to Sebastian and asking for an autograph. She'd probably trip over her own tongue.

_I'll see what I can do,_ she typed back. _It's still a few weeks away, who knows, maybe it's just a rumor._

_Well, I'll be living vicariously through you._ _J_ Bev typed. _Trust me, if I could I'd be coming to Ridgeville for vacation. I’ll just have to get my fix watching his interviews online._

That jogged Felicia’s memory. 

_Jeez, Bev. I've got to stop watching these interviews he does. It's bad enough that his inability to answer any question easily makes him look like an adorable puppy, but the he does those things with his mouth and he's flexing his shoulders and rolling his head and it's like he's just begging for someone to kiss his neck._

_Girl, you've really fallen down the rabbit hole._

 Felicia knew Bev was laughing at her, even though she was probably thinking the same thing.

_Yes! I mean look at this._ She sent a link to the new interview to her friend. _Have you seen this one?  It’s particularly distracting. I just want to nibble on his neck, lick it, bite it, suck it... sorry, I got a little carried away, didn,t I?_

_There’s no shame in that girl! He's definitely worthy of getting carried away over!_

Before Felicia could reply, Bev messaged her again.

_I need to go yell at the kids so they go to sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok? Keep me updated on the whole movie thing._

_I will! Good luck with the kids._

Felicia signed off, smiling at her friend's reaction.

Now that Bev was offline, Felicia could put some time in on her second job. She grabbed her headset and plugged it into her phone before sitting back down. She drew in a deep breath and signed into her private account. It signaled to the operators that she was online and ready to take calls. All she had to do was wait for a notification to pop up that there was a call, decide if she wanted to accept it, and then turn on the charm.

Felicia had never imagined being a phone sex operator. It had never even crossed her mind. But with money tight, especially over the winter, she had started to get desperate. There weren’t a lot of legitimate jobs you could do from home. Felicia certainly didn’t have the time to sell Mary Kay or Avon. She entertained the idea of getting a second job, but even if her long hours put in at the Home Plate weren’t an issue, she would have felt disloyal going to work at another restaurant, _for the competition_.

 Last winter, Bev had made a joke about doing phone sex work and initially Felicia had brushed it off as hilarious and horrifying. Besides, who even called phone sex lines anymore? But a week later she had found herself with an application on her screen, filling out details to see if she could make some extra money doing just that.


	2. Chapter Two

Felicia stared at her screen, willing a call to come through. It was a weekday night and those were usually the slowest. But she had some free time and any call she took meant extra money.  She had been lucky to find a company as thorough as Connections. Some phone sex companies required their operators to work 8 to 10 hours at a time. Unless she gave up sleeping, Felicia didn’t normally have that much time to devote to a side job. But Connections let her log on to the system whenever she had the time, for as long or as little as she wanted. Not only that, but they had an excellent screening system. If there were any kind of situations or fetishes the operators weren’t comfortable with they had the option to choose not to take a call. Felicia tried to stick to the normal, run of the mill calls. She might have been able to make more money if she branched out, but she didn’t feel like she could do a good job if she was too far outside her comfort zone. The biggest bonus however, was that the system allowed her to block any local calls. The last thing Felicia wanted was to take a call only to discover it was someone she regularly saw at the diner or around town.

A message pinged that there was a caller waiting in the queue. She looked over the details and decided to accept the call. It wasn’t anyone she had spoken to before, there were some clients that she’d spoken to more than once, but with her erratic hours she usually didn’t get repeat callers.

Clearing her throat quickly, she slipped on her headset and evened her breathing. “Hello,” she said smoothly.

“Hello?" A man's voice tentatively inquired.

“How are you doing tonight?" she crooned back to him.

“Uh, hmm," he cleared his voice, fumbling for words. "I'm good, I guess."

Felicia’s lips turned up into a smile. Her caller’s hesitance and loss for words reminded her of the way Sebastian Stan always seemed to have trouble answering questions during interviews. Her caller was definitely uncomfortable but his voice was completely sexy despite his discomfort.

"Is this your first time, baby?”

“Um, yeah. I mean, I've never done it before. Done this, that is.” He chuckled, “I’m not a virgin, I just, uh, on the phone, not uh, this. So, yeah, it's my first time calling," he rambled, his words running together.

Felicia settled back in her chair. This could be an easy call; it sounded like it could take awhile, which was good. The longer the caller was online, the more money she made. “There’s no reason to be nervous," she tried to assure him in her most calming tone. "Why don’t we start with you telling me your name? Then we can do this any way you want. You just tell me what you like and what you don't, how does that sound?"

“OK, sure. Um, it’s… S-s…” He paused, probably trying to decide whether he wanted to give his real name or not. “It's Steve."

“Well, hello there Steve,” she said, letting the name roll off her tongue. “I’m Anne,” she said. It was her middle name and it was easier to use during calls rather than making up something entirely, it made for less chances of getting confused. “Why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself? What do you look like? You sound handsome," she said honestly.

“Uh, thanks? What do I look like? Um, I'm tall, but not too tall I guess, five-foot-eleven. I've got blue eyes. And dark hair, it’s a mess. It pretty much just goes everywhere."

Felicia noticed he hadn’t said anything about his body type, but that didn’t really matter. He was the one calling her for a fantasy, not the other way around. “Mmm,” she purred, “I love a man with hair I can grab onto.”

There was a pause and then he laughed uncomfortably. It was obvious to Felicia that her caller, Steve, wasn't going to be taking the lead. He was going to need a little push.

“Should I describe the way I look, Steve?" she asked, keeping her tone sultry.

"Yeah, yeah I’d like that," he stammered.

Again, it was easier to stick to the truth, “I'm five-foot-seven. I have light brown hair that falls in waves around my shoulders. I’ve got hazel eyes and pale, creamy skin, with just a hint of freckles across my nose.” She hoped that he wasn’t one of those guys who preferred women to have tans. Then came the clincher, the line that usually caught the interest of the caller. “I have soft, supple curves, just aching for your touch,” she purred. "How does that sound to you?”

There was an audible gulp from the other end of the line, followed by, “What? Oh, yeah, um yeah, it sounds good."

“So, Steve," she said slowly. "You called me, so what can I do for you this evening?"

“Uh, well, uh, I guess, uh, I just felt like talking. To someone. To a girl.” There was a pause and she could hear him exhale. “To a woman,” he corrected himself.

“Just talk?" she asked flirtatiously.

"Yeah. I mean I don’t know..."

“Oh?" she asked curiously, "What were you hoping for exactly?"

"I don't…I mean. This was stupid, I'm sorry. I’m just lonely."

He sounded nervous, but sincere. “How about we take it slow," she asked, not wanting to scare him off. “If you want to talk, we can. Just talk. We can do whatever you want.”

“Okay," he said softly.

Felicia wasn’t sure how far she should push him. As long he stayed on the line she would make money, it didn’t matter to her if he wanted to chat about his day rather than hear dirty talk. She felt him out by asking, “So why are you lonely?”

There was a soft chuckle from her caller. “I’ve got a busy life I guess, too busy to find the time to get serious about anyone.”

“I see,” she answered. “So, what do you do that keeps you so busy?” she asked, genuinely curious.

“I travel a lot. It feels like lately, I’m always busy f- uh, flying all over the place. For work, you know.”

Felicia could have sworn he was going to say something other than flying, but she went with it. “So you’re a frequent flyer? Have you ever joined the mile high club?” She rolled her eyes at her cheesy attempt at a joke, but he actually laughed.

“No, I’m not the greatest flyer. I get too nervous. I prefer to be on solid ground when I, uh, have sex,” he answered.

“Aah,” Felicia said, letting her voice grow huskier, “I bet if you had a good distraction you would forget all about being a nervous flyer.”

That seemed to pique his interest. “What sort of distraction,” he swallowed.

“Mmmhmmm, well, what would you want me to do to distract you?” She deliberately kept her voice barely above a whisper.

“If we were on a flight together? I’d kiss you,” he said. Then, less confidently, “Would that be okay?” He sighed. “Sorry, I’ve never done anything like this before.”

Felicia knew it was stupid, but her anonymous caller sounded so sexy and the fact that he was so hesitant — yet he clearly wanted to do more than just make small talk— made her heart race. “Of course it’s alright. I’d lean in close, and bring my lips to yours. I’d kiss you until we were out of breath and then I’d grab that messy hair of yours and kiss you some more.”

“That sounds like a good distraction,” he said quietly.

“But it wouldn’t be my only distraction,” Felicia continued. “I would move my hands down through your hair, to your neck, caressing your shoulders and then your chest. Can you feel my hands on you?” she asked, hoping that he would go with her changing the abstract into an active script.

“I can,” he said. His words came out breathy. “Then what would you do?”

“I want to run my hands all over your body. Can I do that?”

His answer came in the form of a small moan. Felicia knew that her words were having the desired effect.

“I’m going to run my hands right down your chest and when I move them lower, I’m going to run my hands over that beautiful bulge in your pants. Because kissing me has gotten you hard, hasn’t it?”

“Yes,” he replied raptly.

“How hard are you?" she purred.

“So, fucking hard," he admitted.

“Mmmm, I like the sound of that,” Felicia answered. And it was the truth. Usually her calls were all business. Sure she talked a good game, but it was just work, none of her callers had ever gotten her turned on. But this was different, something about her dark haired caller, whose name she suspected wasn’t really Steve, had aroused her.  “And do you know what I’d do then?”

As she waited for his answer, she slowly rubbed the palms of her hands over the thin cotton of her tank top, caressing her hardened nipples.  
  
“Wh—What?”  
  
“I’d whisper in your ear the things I’d do to you when we were in private. So that you wouldn’t be able to think about anything during the rest of the flight but what you had to look forward to when we landed.” Felicia didn’t think her caller was into exhibitionism, so hopefully he wouldn’t mind her steering the fantasy in a slightly different direction.

“What kind of things?”

There was a soft sound, as if he was licking his lips, so she continued. “I’d make you wait just long enough until we got in the door. Once we were alone, I’d get down on my knees in front of you and undo your fly so I could see your hard cock. Then I’d take your cock in my hands and I’d stroke it up and down…up…and down, until you were begging me to stop teasing you.”   
  
“Fuck, yeah.”

“Are you touching yourself, thinking about me stroking your cock?”

She heard a soft grunt and she knew that he must have indeed been touching himself. As she pictured him, steadily stroking himself, his eyes closed, Felicia found that she was picturing Sebastian Stan. No wonder she was getting so turned on.

“Mmm, now, imagine that it’s my mouth on you. You like me sucking your cock, don’t you? Can you feel my lips around you?” she asked, carefully weaving the fantasy.  “Can you feel how I take you all the way in before slowly letting you back out, over and over again until you’re almost ready to come?”  
  
“I can feel it. God, it feels so fucking good; don't stop," he said, almost begging.  
  
The soft fumbling as her caller tried to juggle the phone and find a rhythm to stroke himself spurred her on. “I’d suck you all that much harder then, taking your cock all the way back down my throat.” The idea of being on her knees in front of Sebastian Stan was getting her more aroused than she thought was possible. This never happened during her calls.

“I wouldn’t stop, I’d lick you up and down, kissing the tip of your cock every time until you couldn’t take it anymore. And then…” She paused, hearing his now heaving breathing. “I’d stand up and take your hands and put them on my hips and then I’d say, ‘Fuck me.”  
  
“God,” he groaned huskily.  “You’d like me to fuck you right there, wouldn’t you?” he asked. “Right up against the wall.”

Felicia couldn’t help but picture Sebastian picking her up so she could wrap her legs around his hips before he backed her up against a wall. Using her right hand, she began rubbing herself though her shorts, the friction becoming almost more frustrating than satisfying.  “Yes,” she panted. “I want to feel your hard cock inside of me. It would be so easy for you to lift up my skirt and take me right there. I’d have made sure I wasn’t wearing any panties just for this occasion.”

There was a strangled sound from her caller. “Does it make you wet, thinking about my cock?”

Felicia shivered, sliding a hand inside her loose shorts. Thank God for hands-free headsets. “Yes, I’m so wet.” She ran a finger across her sensitive clit, down through her folds, feeling just how wet her Sebastian Stan-sound alike had made her.

“Touch yourself. Touch yourself and think about me,” he commanded.

She did, and a series of soft moans escaped her lips. At this rate, it wouldn't take long till she reached her climax. This definitely wasn't a normal occurrence for Felicia. She had faking it down to an art. However, imagining that she had Sebastian Stan on the other end of the line made it hard to hold back. She gripped the edge of her chair with her free hand, reminding herself that the point of the call was to get him off, not herself.

“I want you to fuck me,” she repeated. “To take me fast and hard. Because it’s too much, the teasing, the kissing. Can feel how good it is to drive your cock into me?”

“Yeah, yes, I can feel it. God, it feels so fucking good; don't stop," he begged.

She could hear him, stroking himself, through the phone. His pace fast and frantic. There was a low groan and then, “I’m coming,” he gasped.

Felicia nearly bit her lip in half, to stop herself from crying out “Sebastian.”  Instead, through pursed lips, she forced out, “I am too,” and unlike other calls she’d taken, this time it was the truth.

Through her headset she could hear his heavy breathing and she pictured him, pictured Sebastian Stan rather, with his eyes closed in a state of euphoria. She was feeling pretty euphoric herself.

“How was that distraction for you?” she asked, coming to her senses.

In response all Felicia heard was a softly muttered “Shit.” Then came the sound of his phone falling, with a thud to the carpet. Then silence as the call disconnected. Whether it was on purpose or not she had no idea, but her lonely, nervous-flyer, Sebastian Stan-sound-alike had hung up on her.

With the way the call had abruptly ended, Felicia waited, watching her screen for the possibility that he would call back. It was silly really, he’d gotten what he had called for, she’d done her job very effectively. Feeling satisfied in more ways than one, she took off her headset and logged out of the system. She could have stayed up longer, taken another call or two, it really wasn’t that late. But she didn’t feel right taking any more callers. All Felicia wanted to do was crawl into her bed and replay the conversation she’d just had. So that was exactly what she did.


	3. Chapter Three

Sebastian sat back, his chest still heaving. He wiped a hand across his discarded pants before running it through his hair. He simultaneously wanted to punch Chris Evans and buy him a fruit basket. He knew he wouldn’t do either. Hopefully Chris would never bring up the subject of the phone sex line again, but Sebastian was glad that he had mentioned it in the first place. Last weekend Chris had stopped at his apartment, asking if he wanted to join him at a club.

“No thanks man, last time you drug me out with you we ended up singing Elton John songs at a karaoke bar,” Seb said.

“Hey, you told me that was the most fun you’d had in a long time,” Chris said defensively.

“That was also the most I’d had to drink in a long time,” Seb had laughed.

“Are you sure man? It’s not good to sit in your apartment all alone all the time.”

“Listen, I went out today –“

“The gym doesn’t count, Seb. I mean you should come out and do something fun.”

“I appreciate the offer Chris. I’m just not feeling it.”

“Are you pouting? Jesus, you’re leaving soon, right? To film on location?” Chris asked.

“Yeah, in about a month. We’re going somewhere in the Midwest. Indiana I think.”

“Cool, sounds like a good gig, from what you’ve told me.” Chris grinned.

“It’s not Marvel, but it’ll be fun to do something different. And not have to wear that metal arm.” Sebastian cracked a smile.

“So, why not come out with me and celebrate the new role? Or you could think of it as a farewell party?”

“Thanks for the offer Chris, but I’m gonna pass.”

Chris had eyed him curiously. “Is there something else going on? Did you get dumped or something?”

Seb laughed bitterly. “To be dumped you actually have to be dating someone. I don’t have time for a serious relationship. I’ve been too busy. Besides, it’s not fair to try and date someone when I’m never in one place for too long. But it gets lonely, you know?”

Chris nodded in agreement. “Man, you’re preaching to the choir.”

Seb had continued, “It’s not even the sex I really miss, although I _do_ miss that.” Chris grinned at him as he said this. “What I really miss is just having someone to talk to, to just be with.”

Chris clapped him on the shoulder. “You could come out with me,” he tried one last time. “I know you wouldn’t have a problem picking up a beautiful girl and bringing her home. If you wanted to.”

Seb stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Nah, not that it isn’t tempting, but I’d rather avoid one-night stands. That’s not really my thing.”

Chris had watched him for a moment, then sighed. “Listen man, I’m going to tell you something. But I swear to God, if you tell anyone that I told you this I will deny it. And then I’ll strangle you.”

Chris didn’t seem to be joking, so Sebastian had waited to hear what his friend had to say.

“There’s this place you can call, Connections. They’ve got all kinds of women who’ll talk to you about anything. _Anything_ ,” he emphasized.

“Whoa, whoa, wait. Are you talking about…” Seb searched for the right word. “Prostitutes?”

“No! No,” Chris said sounding appalled. “Sure, if you’re into kinky stuff they’ll talk about that. But like I said, anything. I think of it as a therapy session, with a smokin’ hot chick.” Now he cracked a smile.

“I don’t know, Chris. I can’t see myself talking to some anonymous woman. That’s almost as bad as a one-night stand.”

“Listen, do you have a pen and some paper?”  Chris asked, looking around Sebastian’s living room.

Sebastian obligingly fetched a notepad and a pen and handed it to Chris. Chris took it from him and scribbled down a phone number.

“Just think about it, okay? If you aren’t interested, toss this in the trash. Whatever you do though, don’t tell the girl who you really are, you don’t want to end up talking to someone who’ll sell your story to the tabloids.”

“It's not illegal, is it?”

“No, of course not. Just, you know, you don't want some chick getting the idea she could blackmail you.”

“Jeez, Chris, I’m not an idiot,” Sebastian had protested.  “That's the last kind of complication I need in my life.” He took the slip of paper and shoved it in his pocket.

“Of course not. Now, are you sure you don’t want to go out?” Chris grinned cheesily.

“I’m sure. You have fun though, don’t sing too many Elton John songs.”

“Not without you man, not without you,” Chris had said as he let himself out the door.

And that slip of paper had stayed in Sebastian’s pocket for the next two weeks. He’d forgotten all about it even though he had worn the jeans more than a few times. Earlier that evening, after another trip to the gym, he’d finally gotten around to doing laundry and had found the paper with the phone number on it in Chris’s handwriting. At first, he couldn’t remember what it was. He’d scratched his head, wondering, until Chris’s words came back to him. “ _All kinds of women who’ll talk to you about anything._ ”

He nearly threw the paper in the trash; he should have done it when Chris gave it to him. Or right after he had left if he wanted to be polite about it. But he’d saved it for some reason. The two weeks since Chris had given him the number and told him about Connections hadn’t been any less lonely.

 _What the hell_ , he had told himself. And he’d dialed the number. He’d had no trouble unfastening his belt and shoving down his pants so he could touch himself as she had used her sexy voice to talk him into getting off. But the afterglow had quickly worn off and his feelings were in turmoil. He felt a little ashamed, embarrassed, but mostly he felt alone. So here he was after talking to Anne (he was fairly sure that wasn’t her real name) feeling less lonely but at the same time even more alone. As nice as it had been to feel the release, his body still craved the touch of feminine hands. The feeling of a body lying next to his in bed, whispering words to each other in the moments before they fell asleep.  Someone to wrap his arms around.

Shit. _What kind of a sappy idiot am I_ , he wondered. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, trying to get the thoughts of “Anne” out of his head. Was that even her real name? Probably not. Shit, had he actually told her his name was Steve?

Laughing, he rose shakily from the couch and headed for the shower. Already naked from the waist down, he stripped off his shirt on the way, leaving it in the hallway where it fell. He never had done his laundry.

As he showered, Sebastian remembered how the woman with the sultry voice on the other end of the phone had promised to touch him _and more_. He could fell his cock starting to get hard again and he groaned. Closing his eyes, he let his forehead rest against the shower wall as the water beat down on his neck. He willed himself to think about anything but sex. Fast cars, baseball. He turned the knob and let the water grow cold, then counted to one hundred. Amazingly, it worked and he quickly finished showering and got ready for bed.

Sleep eluded him though and he found himself tossing and turning. What little rest he did get was filled with dreams of Anne, or what he pictured her looking like from her description of herself. When he got for the day, giving up on sleep around eight am, he was frustrated and felt like he’d been run over by a truck.

A glance in the mirror showed the dark circles under his eyes were even more prominent than usual. Sebastian looked at the pile of laundry. “Fuck it,” he muttered to the empty apartment. He grabbed a clean-looking dark t-shirt from the top of the pile and threw it on along with a pair of shorts that actually were clean. He laced up his sneakers, put on his hat and went to the gym.

Maybe he could take out some of his frustration on the weight machines.  Twenty minutes later, he was doing just that. The only problem was that as his trainer encouraged him, chanting “C’mon Seb!” he couldn’t help but wish he was hearing those words in _her_ voice.

The only thing Seb was looking forward to about filming on location was the thought that he would probably be too busy to feel lonely. Or, at least he hoped he would be too busy enough to keep his mind from turning to Anne, because a woman he would never meet in real life was the last thing he needed to obsess about.


	4. Chapter Four

Felicia covered the mouthpiece of her headset with her hand and tried to control her breathing. God, if she'd known her extra job was going to end up _this_ enjoyable she would have started years ago. She could still feel the blood thrumming through her veins.

Tonight was the second night she'd gotten off while talking a man to orgasm...and both nights had been her Sebastian-sound alike. The caller she’d turned into Sebastian Stan during their first conversation. Yes, he'd called back. She'd been surprised at first, but had gone with it, happy to hear his voice again. She was just beginning to wonder if he was going to hang up on her again when she abruptly heard his voice.

“Are you still there?”  he asked.

"Y-yes."

"Good," he exhaled. "I was hoping you would be. You know, I called, hoping to talk to you a few times. Does that make me sound pathetic?"

"You've called the line and talked to other girls?" she asked, trying not to sound jealous.

"I've called, and I... I asked to talk to you again." Felicia could almost hear the pout in his voice. “But you were never available, so I kept trying. You're a busy woman, I guess."

Felicia laughed; he didn't know the half of it. "You're not jealous, are you?" she questioned.

"Maybe I am," he laughed too. "Does that make me an idiot? Or sound super creepy?"

"No, it doesn't. I wasn't busy, I mean, I was busy, but not taking other calls. This isn't something I do full time," she admitted. “And it’s kind of flattering.”

"Oh. Oh, good."

He sounded relieved and Felicia smiled. "So, what can I do for you, now that you’ve still got me on the line?"

"I know I already sound crazy, but I couldn't stop thinking about you. I told myself I wasn’t going to call again, but I wanted to hear your voice again. The last time we talked... the... it was amazing. So was tonight. I’m still trying to catch my breath."

"Why, thank you. I thought it was pretty amazing too."

"You did?" he asked, sounding incredulous.

"Mmmhmm," Felicia drew the sound out, knowing how it would sound to him.

"I'm getting ready to travel soon, for work," he began explaining.

"Are you taking a flight?" she asked, remembering how he'd said he was a nervous flyer.

“I am, in two days. It’s about a four hour flight. Not the longest one I’ve taken lately. But long enough.” He sounded almost disappointed.

“Well, four hours isn’t too bad. You’ll just have to think about the things we talked about, the distractions, during the flight.”

There was a short laugh. “That’s the problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know I won’t be able to get on that plane and sit through that flight without thinking about you. Thinking about the things we talked about.”

“Wasn’t that the point, to distract you from worrying about the flight?” she said.

“Sure, yeah, I guess so. But the problem is, when I get off that flight, after four hours of thinking about all the sexy things you say…” he trailed off.

“Aaah,” Felicia said. “I see. You’ll be all worked up and all alone.”

He huffed. “Yeah. Alone.”

Felicia felt sorry for him, he sounded unhappy. She didn’t know what sort of job he had, but it sounded like he was always travelling and he’d told her before that he was lonely.

“Well, when is your flight?” she asked.

“It’s late, I’m supposed to land around ten.”

“And you’re staying in a hotel?”

“Something like that. So probably ten-thirty until I’m settled in my room. Why all the questions?”

Felicia smiled to herself. “I was going to suggest that you call me when you’ve landed. After you’re in your room, I mean. And then I can make it up to you, for the things you’ll be thinking during the flight.”

“You mean like, make an appointment?” he asked.

“Think of it as a date, not an appointment. You don’t have to tell me where you’re flying to, but what time zone will you be in?”

“Oh, uh, the same time zone. I mean, the same as I’m in now. It’s,” he paused, “almost midnight here now.”

“Good, you’re in the same time zone as me. So, is it a date?”

“Really? Yeah. I mean yes, absolutely. Could I call you at eleven? Just in case the flight is a little late, or it takes longer to get where I’m staying?”

“That sounds perfect. I’m looking forward to it.” And she was, not just for the amazing phone sex, but because she was starting to genuinely like this caller, her Sebastian Stan-sound alike. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to form an attachment to an anonymous caller, but it was already too late for that.

“You are? I mean, I am too. But you are?” he asked.

“I am, honest. I don’t ever set up special times to take calls for anyone. So you should consider yourself lucky.”

“I do,” he said. “I still have a lot to do, to get ready, before I leave. So, I guess I should say goodnight.  And thank you again.”

“Goodnight,” she said softly. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

Felicia waited until he had disconnected before taking off her headset and logging out of the Connections system. Her skin still tingled from her orgasm and yet her stomach filled with butterflies thinking about talking to _Steve_ again. She suspected it before, but now she was certain that wasn’t his real name. Not that she had given hers, still going by Anne, but at least _she_ responded when he called her Anne.

Two days later, Felicia stood in front of the ice cream machine, dispensing cones and milkshakes and shook her head, trying to clear away the cobwebs. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Madison bent over the grill. Her aunt Thelma was waiting tables while Carla, her other aunt, ran back and forth between the kitchen and the counter. Today the dinner rush was actually a dinner rush. Usually by this time, Thelma and Carla were ready to go home for the day. But between the rush of customers and the fact that Felicia hadn’t called in their part-time waitress Kelly, they were stuck helping out for however long it took until the rush was over.

A glance at the clock on the wall told her it was too late to call Kelly anyway. She swirled cone after cone, dispensing them from the soft serve machine with a practiced twist of the wrist. It was just a little thing, and probably stupid, but Felicia prided herself on the perfect twists of her ice cream cones.

The line of customers was out the door now, some waiting on takeout, some waiting for seats, others waiting just for ice cream. If it kept up, they’d have a very good week. Felicia made a mental note to call Kelly as soon as she could, to tell her to come in for tomorrow and plan on working as often as she could. It happened every year, the warm weather snuck up on Ridgeville and when it started getting hot, business picked up. Everyone in Ridgeville knew that on hot days, Home Plate was the place to go for ice cream.

With the start of softball season that meant busy evenings every Monday after practice days and then on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after games.  Friday and Saturday evenings during spring and summer usually meant a steady stream of customers anyway, but Saturday afternoon softball games meant there would be a rush when the games let out too.

That was a good thing; more customers also meant more money. It also meant longer days for Felicia. Her aunts opened the diner with her at 7:00 am, helping with the breakfast crowd and the prep for lunch. Then around 11:00, Madison would come in and take over the kitchen. Felicia ran back and forth between the front counter, ringing up checks at the register and helping Madison in the kitchen when it was busy. 

Felicia wondered if the movie, which was scheduled to start filming in another week, would mean an increase in business as well. The rumors, as far as she could tell, were true. Sebastian Stan did have the lead role in the movie and the thought that in a short time he could be standing in the diner, mere feet away from her, almost caused Felicia to drop the chocolate cone she was holding.  She passed it to the waiting customer and took a deep breath. _Calm down._ It was probably a good chance that filming would keep the actors so busy they wouldn’t have time to visit the diner or anywhere else she might run into Sebastian Stan. 

Even as busy as she was, Felicia hadn’t forgotten about her special caller. She’d come close to telling Bev about it more than once, but she knew it would be hard to explain. How could she tell her friend she’d spoken to someone on the phone that sounded just like her (favorite actor/celebrity crush) Sebastian Stan? She didn’t think Bev would judge her for being a phone sex operator, but it just seemed easier to keep her side job a complete secret from everyone… even her best friend.

The odds were laughably small that it actually was Sebastian Stan. Felicia literally had laughed at herself, getting the crazy idea of such a gorgeous man calling Connections. Not just calling Connections, but calling and being connected with _her_.

It didn’t matter who he was, he was just a faceless voice on the other end of a phone line. A sexy, genuine voice, but still just an anonymous caller.

Felicia couldn’t help but smile, thinking about their arranged appointment. No, “a date” she’d told him. She’d never done that with a caller before, but there was something about him that had her taking chances.  As excited as she was feeling, it seemed like a real date, not that she’d been on one any time recently. Work kept her too busy, and honestly, there wasn’t exactly a huge pool of eligible bachelors in Ridgeville. At least not eligible bachelors that Felicia would actually consider dating.

As the day wore on and things got less crazy, Felicia found herself anticipating the call even more. Things had eventually slowed down and while she was glad for a break from the chaos, it gave her mind more time to dwell on the call she would be getting later.

When it was time to close up for the night she let Madison do kitchen clean up while she gave the front of the diner a thorough cleaning. When she left, the booths were spotless, the chrome sparkled and the floor was shining. It was going to be a big day tomorrow, not only was it opening day of softball season, but the crews and actors were due to arrive. Felicia didn’t know if anyone from out of town would stop by the diner, but she wanted to make a good impression if someone did.

As she made the short drive home, Felicia kept a close eye on the clock on her dashboard. She should have plenty of time to shower and slip into something comfortable before the call came in. She smiled to herself at the thought of what she would wear. Just her usual loose cotton lounge clothes, nothing fancy. It wasn’t like she was going to actually be in the same room with her caller. Maybe this was just what she needed to distract her from the thought that she might soon be face to face—or at least in the same room with—Sebastian Stan. She was almost more excited to talk to her smooth-voiced caller again than to see the real Sebastian Stan. After all, it wasn’t like the _real_ Sebastian Stan would have phone sex with her.


	5. Chapter Five

The flight was smooth and nothing out of the ordinary happened… unless you counted the images that flooded Sebastian’s mind from the moment he boarded the plane. He always felt uncomfortable while flying, but this time he wasn’t nervous or worried. This time he was uncomfortable because the memories of the memories of his first call to the sugar-voiced Anne replaying over and over in his head. That, coupled with the knowledge that he would be talking to her again in a few hours, had him sporting an erection for nearly the whole flight. Those thoughts and images didn’t stop when he got off the plane either.

The airport was small, definitely less chaotic than LaGuardia. Someone was waiting to take him to the hotel he would be staying in during filming. Well, “hotel” may have been stretching the truth a little. While technically it was a Holiday Inn it was more like a bed and breakfast.  Because it was dark when they arrived, he couldn’t get much of a sense of the outside of the building, but the inside reminded him of someone’s grandmother’s living room. Floral carpets, dark wood paneling on the walls, and shelves filled with knick-knacks.

There was an overly cheerful woman waiting behind the check in counter. All Sebastian wanted to do was get to his room, drop his bags and make the phone call he’d be thinking about for hours. No, not just hours, days. Since he had talked to her last. But the woman, Christy, who apparently ran the hotel, was way too chipper and talkative for ten o’clock at night.

“So, you’re really here making a movie in Ridgeville. Wow, that’s so great. We’re so glad to have you here. Everyone here is so excited,” she rambled, as she escorted him up a flight of stairs and down a hall to his room.

“Yeah, it’s happening. I’m excited to be here,” he answered, as politely as he could muster.

“Oh, good, that’s wonderful! I think you’ll really love Ridgeville. We’re a small town, but there are some really great places you should visit while you’re here. I have some brochures, if you’re interested.” She turned the key and opened the door to his room with a flourish. “Here’s your room, make yourself at home. Did you want me to bring you up those brochures? Or better yet, maybe I can show you around town some time?” She stood in the doorway, forcing him to wait in the hall.

“Uhm, no, thank you. I mean, I can pick up the brochures next time I come down. I’m sure this is a really nice place. I’m just not sure how much time I’ll have for sightseeing. We have a pretty tight filming schedule.” Seb tried to look disappointed, but he was quickly losing his patience. “Listen, I’m pretty tired and I’ve got a busy day tomorrow, so do you think…” he nodded in the direction of the room.

“Oh, sure!” Christy giggled. “Go on,” she said, moving aside just enough that he had to brush past her to get into his room. She placed the room key on the desk that sat just inside the doorway. “Enjoy your stay! I hope I’ll see you around from time to time.”

She hung in the doorway for a moment longer, but he had already turned his back, tossing his bags to the floor beside the bed. Sebastian heard the door close and he sighed with relief.

Now that he was finally alone, he almost felt nervous. He had a few minutes before the appointed time and he wondered what he should do. He walked around the room, seeing it was decorated similarly to the lobby downstairs. It had the same grandma’s living room vibe. He sat down on the queen-sized bed, bouncing slightly to test the mattress. It seemed like it would be comfortable. Too bad he wouldn’t have anyone to share it with.

His phone lay beside him on the bed and he scratched his chin absentmindedly while he stared at it. He wondered if he should shave. He really hadn’t done his research on this role, it had happened fairly suddenly and he’d been, well, distracted for the last few weeks. He wasn’t too worried, softball couldn’t be that that different from baseball. Could it?

Sebastian decided he would worry about that later. He picked up his phone and checked the time. Anticipation buzzed low in his stomach as he dialed the number and waited to for it to connect. He went through the automated system, carefully selecting his preferences. Then he waited to hear her voice.

“Hello?” came her breathy answer.

He knew it was her immediately. “I made it through the plane ride,” he said.

“Good, that’s good. Were you distracted enough… but not too much?” she asked coyly.

“Just enough, I guess.” He smiled. “I couldn’t stop thinking of you the whole time. I wish… I, never mind, it’s dumb.”

“No, what was it? Tell me?” she asked.

He sighed. “I was going to say that I wish you had been here, waiting for me.” He hoped that she wouldn’t be put off by his words. He wasn’t sure if it crossed some kind of line for her, professionally.

He heard her sigh softly. “I wish I could have been there waiting for you too. I know we’re probably on opposite sides of the country, but to tell you the truth I’ve been thinking about you a lot too.”

Seb wondered just _where_ she was. Her accent was hard to place, there wasn’t anything about it that was distinguishable. He could picture her clearly in his mind, what he thought she looked like, based on her description and the way she sounded.

She took his silence as an invitation to ask, “Where are you right now, your hotel room? What would you have done if I _was_ waiting there for you?”

“In my hotel room?”  
  
“Mmmmhmmm, in your hotel room...” She repeated the question. “Is there a nice big bed?”

“Big enough for two.” Sebastian was already half hard and the thought of sharing the bed with her made his thighs clench.

“If you walked into your room and I was there waiting for you, on that bed, what would you do?”

Sebastian heard the innuendo in her voice and he found it difficult to concentrate; he closed his eyes, leaning back against the pile of decorative pillows behind him and tried to imagine what he would do with her there.

“I hope you’d be dressed appropriately,” he teased.

“What would be appropriate?” she asked in a low voice.

Her voice was almost hypnotizing and he let his imagination take over as he sank deeper into the pillows, his hand traveling across his stomach up to his chest and down again.

“Heels.”

“Anything else,” she questioned.

“Nope.” God, he loved a sexy pair of heels on a woman. And he liked nothing better than picturing a woman in a pair of heels wearing _only_ those heels.

“So, you’d like me there, on your bed, in just my heels.”

There it was again; the voice that sounded like a smooth shot of whiskey. He’d grown to love the sound of her voice, it made him tremble with excitement every time her voice came across the other end pf the phone.

“So I’m there on the bed, in my heels,” she repeated. “You’d drop everything when you saw me. I’d be lying on the bed, watching you grow hard, that throbbing and straining against your pants. I bet  you’d feel  so hot and hard under my hand, as I rub you.”

He choked off a moan as his hand dropped down into his lap, starting to lightly stroke his growing erection through his jeans. He was frustrated– that it wasn’t her hand, that he was alone and touching himself – but the way her soft voice sounded in his ear, the naughty things she said were almost enough to make up for it. Talking to her this way had proved to be much more of a turn-on than he had ever expected. His fingers trembled a little as he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans and slipped his hand into his boxers.

“I wouldn’t want to wait long, to feel you touching me. To undress you so you were just as naked as I was. It makes me soaking wet...” she trailed off and he pictured her touching herself, just like he was.

Sebastian wrapped his hand around his shaft and gave himself a few quick, firm strokes before he pulled down his boxers just far enough down his hips to be able to free his cock. He could hear soft pants and moans from the other end of the line and he let his eyes fall closed as he started to stroke himself at an agonizingly slow pace. The stuffy hotel room and empty bed faded away as he let himself fall deeper and deeper into the smooth sound of her voice.  
  
“I'd straddle you, grinding down on that rock hard cock, our bodies fitting together perfectly. I know you’d want to run you hands up and down my legs, because I’ve still got those heels on. But I’d have to take one of your hands and guide it, slipping it down between my legs, so you could play with my clit...”

In his mind he could see her, her long hair tangling around them as she sat in his lap. There was something about the unrestricted directness in the way she spoke made that him writhe on the bed shamelessly. Seb let out another low, strangled moan as he gripped himself a little harder, feeling the familiar sensation starting to build in his stomach.   
  
“Go on...” He could barely suppress the lust in his own voice made and it made him blush all over. She was really getting to him.

“I’d lift myself up, just enough so that I could slide right onto your waiting cock...”

Seb’s breath hitched and he clutched phone between his shoulder and his ear. He brought his hand up to his mouth, licking the inside of his palm until it was slick with his own saliva. As he moved his slick hand against his hot shaft he heard her moaning and his excitement spiked. He whimpered softly as she continued to talk, starting to stroke faster and harder. He knew she could hear the sound of his hand on his cock and that only turned him on more.  
  
“Oh yeah... do you like that? Does it feel good?” Her breathy voice sent shivers up his spine as his slick palm brushed the head of his cock. The sound of his own ragged breathing and her words drove heat into his cheeks, making his heart pound.  He thrust up into his hand, a loud moan slipping past his lips, as he closed his hand even tighter around his cock, increasing the friction. He knew he wouldn't be long now.  
  
“Are you close?” Her voice was barely above a whisper in his ear. Sebastian squeezed his eyes closed, trying to keep up with the electric sensations pulsing through his body.

He moaned an indistinct reply, feeling the sweat beading on his forehead. His back arched off the bed as pleasure coursed through him. As he began to come apart, it was all he could do to keep the phone next to his ear. He needed to hear her voice even though he barely registered what she was saying; only aware that the sound of her voice and her moans were pushing him closer and closer to the edge.

A loud groan fought its way out, as his body went rigid for a couple and from somewhere across the phone her voice whispered in his ear, “Come for me.”

“Shit!” He cursed loudly as his breath came in shallow pants, not even bothering to worry how loud he was as he came. He listened to her, her pants and moans as she gasped contentedly.

Seb sighed with satisfaction. He was careful this time to not drop the phone, or abruptly hang up. He didn’t care anymore how much it was costing him. He wanted to stay on the line with her as long as he could.

“Talk to me, just talk to me,” he asked, an edge of pleading creeping into his voice. He slumped back against the bed, not wanting to move.

“What do you want me to talk about?” Her voice was breathy as she tried to recover from her own climax.

“I don’t care, I just want to hear your voice,” he told her shamelessly. “I’m going to be too busy to talk to you for awhile and I want to remember how you sound.” He was tired and alone and as satisfied as he felt, that overwhelming sense of loneliness was creeping back in. “Tell me about a typical day for you, anything.”

“Ok, hmm,” she paused and then she started to talk, her voice flowing over him like water. He couldn’t focus, it didn’t matter what she was saying. He just listened, letting her voice soothe him and lull him to sleep.

Sebastian was startled awake by an insistent knocking on his door. He groggily opened his eyes and simultaneously realized he was half-undressed and felt the familiar weight of his phone clutched in his hand. He glanced at the time, noticing it was nearly eleven o’clock. How had he slept that long?

The knocking continued. “Yeah, I’m awake,” he called out. “What is it?”

“Sebastian,” his assistant’s voice sounded from the other side of the door. “You have about fifteen minutes until we need to be at the park for the parade.”

Shit, a parade, fuck. How had he forgotten about the parade? It was a big deal here, apparently. It was opening day of softball season and there was a parade procession of police cars and fire engines escorting the softball teams from the park at one end of town to the softball fields on the opposite side of town.

“I'm coming,” he shouted as he scrambled out of bed. “I'll be there in five minutes." He retreated to the bathroom and washed his hands, splashing cold water on his face. A look in the mirror told him that his hair was a mess and there were the usual shadows under his eyes. He kept the same pair of jeans and exchanged his current t-shirt for another. He ran his hands through his hair in exasperation before giving up and putting on a hat. He was out of his room and downstairs in less than the five minutes he had promised.

He was grateful his assistant didn’t ask any questions on the quick drive. Seb marveled at the girls milling around the park, separated into teams recognizable by their different colored jerseys.

He was introduced to Sam Thomas, the head of the Ridgeville softball league and coach of two different teams. Sam was red faced and sweaty even though the day was breezy and cool. He was over-the-top friendly and his loud, booming voice made Sebastian wince. He didn’t have to listen to Sam for long, his exposition on softball in Ridgeville was cut short by the arrival of the town’s three fire trucks.

He was glad he was only tired, not hung over, because the sirens on the three fire trucks ran nearly non-stop for an hour, ferrying the different age groups of teams from the local park to the softball fields. Girls from five years old up to older teens in brightly colored team shirts rode with their legs dangling over the side of the fire trucks, showing off their matching tie-dyed socks as they waved and smiled at their families and other bystanders who had come out to watch.

When the teams had all made it to the fields, the games started. They were only exhibition games, to get everyone into the spirit of the softball season, so they wouldn’t last more than two or three innings. By then the sun was bright and warm and Sebastian would have sold his soul for a pair of sunglasses.

Technically, he didn’t have to stay and watch, he had ridden in the parade and even thrown out a first pitch to a group of seven and eight year olds. All he wanted was something caffeinated and an air-conditioned place to drink it.

He found his assistant sitting in the stands. “Hey, is there a Starbucks around here?”

Tearing her eyes away from the slow-paced game, she looked at him and laughed. “Did you have a rough flight? You look exhausted.”

“Something like that,” he replied, rubbing his eyebrow. “So, Starbucks?”

This elicited another laugh. “No, not even. There’s a diner though, they serve coffee and stuff.” She tossed him the keys to her rental car. “Here.” She pointed towards the nearest road. “Just go straight till you come to a stop sign, turn left, then take your first right and the diner is on the left.”

Seb let the keys swing from his index finger. “OK, left, right, left. Got it. Thanks,” he said as he strode towards the car.

He found the diner easily enough;  there wasn’t really anything else around so it wasn’t hard to find. He stepped inside, thankful for the cool air that hit him as he entered. An older woman with short, gray hair smiled widely at him as she breezed by.

“Go ahead and find a seat anywhere, someone will be right with you.”

Sebastian looked around the diner, taking in the softball decorations that covered every wall and surface. The theme fit the name of the diner, Home Plate. As he looked around, he noticed the photographs on the walls. They were beautiful shots, taken in black and white, of players in motion, the outfield, batters, a catcher in a crouching position. Whoever took them obviously had a great eye. Still admiring the photographs, he chose a seat at the counter, settling onto an empty stool. The diner wasn’t full, but there were enough people to keep the staff— who were wearing navy blue baseball jerseys with the diner’s name spelled out on the back— busy. A few moments later, another older woman approached him from the other side of the long counter.

“Hi hon, what can I get for you today?” she asked.

Sebastian blinked at her, wondering if he was seeing things. She looked nearly identical to the woman who had greeted him at the door, only she was shorter and her hair was long and dyed a bright red, in stark contrast to the short, gray hair of the other woman. The nametag on her chest read _Carla_. _They have to be related_ , he thought.

“Uhh, do you have a menu I could look at?”

“Sure thing,” she said, reaching under the counter and handing him a laminated menu. “There you go. Take your time, just holler when you’re ready to order.” She smiled at him, flashing what had to be false teeth, before turning her attention to a customer a few seats down.

Sebastian pored over the menu. It was no Starbucks, that was for sure.  When he had decided, he cleared his throat and tried to catch the woman’s attention.

“Did you make up your mind?” Carla asked. “What can I get for you?”

“I did. I’ll take a large coffee and can I get an ice cream cone?”

“Sure thing. If you want cream or sugar for your coffee, it’s right there.” She motioned to a sugar shaker and a bowl full of creamer.

“Thanks.”

She nodded. “No problem, and for the cone, what flavor? Chocolate, vanilla, or our flavor of the week is orange pineapple.”

“Vanilla, please,” he answered.

“Do you want your cone dipped, or with sprinkles?” she asked.

Seb fought not to roll his eyes. He just wanted a coffee and an ice cream cone. Some caffeine and sugar. “No, plain is fine.” He forced a smile. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” She turned and grabbed a cup before pouring his coffee. “Here you go, the cone will be just one second,” she promised.

Seb nodded as he inhaled the rich scent coming from the cup of coffee. Grabbing the sugar he poured in a generous amount and then opened six of the small creamers, dumping them into his coffee until it reached an acceptable shade of light brown. He let his hands wrap around the cup and brought it to his lips, blowing on the steaming liquid before taking a sip.

He set the cup down with a satisfied sigh. Maybe he wouldn’t miss Starbucks while he was here after all.

He watched as the Carla called an order through the small widow to what he assumed was the kitchen. There was a flurry of motion through the small window and Sebastian caught a glimpse of a woman speeding past the small, rectangular window.

He blinked and then she was gone, but the light brown ponytail that had swung across the back of her blue jersey made him think of _Anne_. He chided himself for being stupid, but he still strained his ears, hoping to pick out her distinctive voice amidst the commotion of the diner.

He never did hear her. Instead, Carla sighed exasperatedly as she dispensed his cone from a soft-serve machine near the opposite end of the counter. She handed it to him with a smile but he still got the impression that she was annoyed over something.

It didn’t matter, it wasn’t his problem. Sebastian accepted the cone and thanked Carla graciously, giving her an easy smile. He took his time, switching between sips of the hot coffee and bites of the cold ice cream cone, enjoying the sweetness.


	6. Chapter Six

_Shit._ Sebastian Stan. He was right there. Sebastian Stan was _right there_ , sitting at the counter. He was only a few dozen feet away from her… and Felicia had frozen. She was in the kitchen, checking with Madison that things were ready for the inevitable rush they would get after the exhibition games. She’d made sure Kelly was there for extra help and she’d been feeling ready to tackle another huge rush of customers.

What she wasn’t ready for was Sebastian Stan. Sebastian Stan who had sauntered into the diner, sat at the counter, and studied the menu. Both of her aunts had talked to him, she’d heard him give his order to Carla. She was perfectly content to stay in the kitchen and admire him from a distance. He looked like he had just crawled out of bed and he was gorgeous. Then she heard him ask for an ice cream cone.

When she saw Carla approaching the order window her hands were shaking. Her aunt had asked her to come out and make the cone but Felicia had refused. She knew she’d have to explain to Carla later, and she would, after Sebastian Stan was no longer sitting at the counter. For now she her aunt would just have to be annoyed at her.

When Carla gave up and made the ice cream cone herself, Felicia ducked out of sight. Madison, who had watched the entire exchange, turned to Felicia.

“Want to tell me what all that was about?”

“No, not really. But I will. Go take a look through the order window, look at the customers sitting at the counter.”

Madison did as she asked, wiping his hands on his apron as he peered through the window. “So, what am I looking at?”

“Get back here, don’t stare,” Felicia hissed as she pulled Madison away from the window. “That guy there, with the dark hair and the hat? That’s one of the actors that’s here for the movie.”

“OK, so? What’s the big deal?”                                                                                        

“The big deal is Sebastian Stan.”

Madison waited for further explanation, looking equal parts confused and unimpressed.

“Sebastian Stan,” Felicia repeated. “He… you know what, it doesn’t matter. Let’s just say that I wasn’t going to go out and meet him looking like this.” She gestured to herself, waving a hand from her head to her waist.

“You’re not usually worried about how you look,” Madison said.

“My hair is a mess, I’m in a stained apron and I look like I didn’t get enough sleep last night.” Which was true, because she _hadn’t_ gotten enough sleep last night. It had been worth it though, she’d had her date and it had been so hot and then so sweet. Felicia tried to think of something else before she started blushing.

“You look fine,” Madison assured her.

Felicia found work to keep her busy in the kitchen, constantly stealing glances out the order window. Sebastian seemed to be in his own world and took little notice of what was going on around him. Felicia tried hard not to imagine him talking to her the way her repeat caller had, but it was an impossible task. She’d already put his face to the caller’s voice. If that wasn’t bad enough, the fact that he was sitting a few feet away eating an ice cream cone infuriatingly slowly was making her increasingly frustrated.

She watched intently every time he licked the cone, his tongue curling around it before darting back through his lips. It wasn’t hard imagining that tongue slipping into her mouth or running along her skin. She groaned quietly and turned away from the window. Madison’s look told her he thought she was crazy, but he didn’t say a word as she retreated into the walk-in cooler.

When she came back out, her aunt, Carla was standing in the kitchen. Carla stood with her arms crossed across her chest and Madison hung back behind her, trying to look busy.

“Would you care to explain what that was all about?” Carla asked.

“I was checking inventory, in the cooler,” Felicia said, playing dumb.

“Young lady, you know that’s not what I meant. Why on earth wouldn’t you come out and get the cone for that man? You weren’t busy.”

Madison snickered and Felicia shot him a dirty look. “Aunt Carla, he’s one of the actors. Here for the movie? It doesn’t matter, he’s gone, right?”

Carla nodded, still looking unconvinced.

“I’m sure he won’t be back again. But _if_ he does, I promise I’ll serve him his ice cream cone, alright?”

Felicia felt certain that he wouldn’t show up twice in one day, and when the exhibition games were over the diner got busy enough that she couldn’t have hidden again even if he had.

When they closed up the diner for the night that evening, there was a lot of clean up to be done. Carla and Thelma came back to help and watching the two of them reminded Felicia that they probably wouldn’t be able to do this for much longer. Carla was nearing seventy and Thelma was only a few years younger. Although looking at them you’d never guess Carla was the older one, given her penchant for keeping her hair a fire engine shade of red. Felicia knew it wouldn’t be any easier running the diner entirely on her own; as much as she did now, there were still a lot of things her aunts took care of and she dreaded even thinking about the day she'd be asked to take over. She hadn't yet figured out how to tell them that, as much as she loved her aunts, running their diner wasn't something she wanted to do when they retired. Her true passion decorated the walls of the diner, and could take her far beyond Ridgeville, if she let it. But how to tell that to her beloved aunts?

______________________________________________________________________________________

As predicted, business really picked up with the start of softball season. The warmer weather drew out customers and that, combined with the traffic they got after practices and games, kept Felicia busy enough that the days seemed to blur together.

Her day typically started with waking up at six. It gave her time to shower if she hadn’t the night before, get dressed and make it to work in time to open up at seven. During breakfast Felicia ran the kitchen; she scrambled and fried eggs, made omelets and cooked bacon, sausage, pancakes and oatmeal. Thelma acted as waitress, seating people and serving coffee. Thelma usually ran the counter, taking care of customers seated there, keeping fresh coffee on and passing orders from Carla to Felicia through the order window.

The breakfast crowd usually lasted from seven, when they opened, until around nine-thirty. They’d have a few stragglers, late breakfasters and of course the regular customers who seemed to sit and drink coffee for hours on end. Around eleven, Madison came in and took over the kitchen so Felicia could start prepping for lunch. Technically, they stopped serving breakfast at eleven and switched to serving lunch, but if someone came in at eleven-thirty or even three in the afternoon and wanted pancakes, they could still get them.

They were busy with lunch from noon to two on most days, and lunch was always busier than breakfast. Madison was in charge of burgers and fries, which was what most of their lunch patrons ordered. Felicia backed him up and also prepared any salads or other sandwiches that people ordered. After the lunch rush had ended, her aunts would usually go home for the day, leaving Felicia and Madison on their own for dinner and closing.

The only thing that kept the days from entirely running into one another for Felicia was the schedule she had to follow. On Saturdays she checked inventory and put in an order to her suppliers. Mondays were baking days; she would make up pie dough and prepare several kinds of pies. Some she would bake that day and others would go in the freezer to bake during the week to have fresh pie. Tuesdays the produce order would come in. Felicia tried to use local farmers and business for all the supplies she could.

Lately, with the increase in business, Felicia had called in Kelly as a backup. Felicia had gone to high school with Kelly and while they weren’t best friends, she was closer to Kelly than any of her other former classmates that still lived in Ridgeville. Kelly always appreciated the work; she had three kids and while her husband worked at the factory in town, Felicia knew that with buying clothes and food for three growing kids, every penny counted.

Every evening the diner stayed open until eight, or sometimes later if there was a late game. That meant that if they were lucky, the last customer was out the door by eight-thirty. Then there was cleanup to do: the kitchen had to be cleaned so it was ready for the next morning, dishes done, floors swept and mopped, booths and counters wiped down and all the salt and pepper shakers and ketchup bottles filled.

If Felicia was lucky, she could get home by nine-thirty. That wasn’t terribly late, but all things considered, she was usually exhausted by the end of the day and all she wanted to do was crawl into bed before it was time to start all over again. She knew her repeat caller had said that he would be busy working, that he wouldn’t have time to call her, but she still felt guilty for not spending any time logged into Connections, just on the off chance that he would call. She tried to remember his voice, the way she had talked to him until he had fallen asleep, but instead she fell asleep with register receipts and order slips running through her head.

The movie was already filming; they had started soon after opening day, when she had been too nervous to serve Sebastian Stan an ice cream cone. Felicia would have given anything to have the free time to go watch them filming. They were using the softball fields during the day, when there were no actual team practices or games. People from town were invited to sit in the stands and be extras as they shot scenes on the softball field. Unfortunately, with as busy as the diner had become, Felicia could only hear second-hand stories about the scenes being filmed in town. There was no way she could take time away from work to sit in the stands and watch the actors at work. Felicia would have given up hearing from her repeat caller ever again for the chance to see Sebastian Stan in a t-shirt, cut-off jeans, and sneakers, out there coaching a bunch of kids.

But  Felicia, having played softball herself when she was younger, would have been excited to see the movie being made regardless of who was in it. Knowing that Sebastian Stan was playing a lead role, the role of Joe Robbins, made it even more exciting. Joe was responsible for starting the girl’s softball program in Ridgeville in 1974. He had been laid off from his factory job and when his wife went to work, leaving him with his three daughters, he’d  looked for something to keep the girls occupied over the summer. There weren’t any girls’ sports programs back then and Joe, being a baseball fan, knew that his daughters, as well as the other local girls, would benefit from the softball league.

As far as Felicia could tell, the movie was covering Joe’s fight to get the girls’ softball league formed. It would show how he had worked with his daughters, and the other girls who had been the first players, coaching them and preparing them as they made it to, and won, the statewide tournament. It was sad that Joe wasn’t around to see what all his hard work had lead to, but Felicia knew his daughters were involved with the project.

The busy filming schedule meant that she hadn’t seen Sebastian Stan back at the diner again. In a way, Felicia was disappointed. She had probably blown her one and only chance at meeting her favorite celebrity.  She would have taken comfort in knowing that she had her sound-alike caller to fuel her fantasies of Sebastian Stan if she herself hadn’t been too busy and too exhausted to have time for him.

______________________________________________________________________________________

It had been two weeks since opening day of softball season; it was a Thursday and Felicia finally had a moment to breathe. The lunch rush hadn’t been as busy as usual and she’d taken a moment to stop and eat lunch herself. She ate her sandwich mechanically, just glad for the break. She was lost in thought when Carla came and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Taking a break?”

“Just long enough to eat; I’ve got to help Madison get things set up for dinner.”

“Don’t rush honey, you deserve a break,” Carla said, taking a seat beside Felicia.

“Well, you know how it is, things get busy…” Felicia trailed off, taking a bite of her sandwich.

“I know, but I want to make sure you know that I appreciate everything you do. Thelma and I both do,” she said, gesturing to her sister who was pouring coffee at the other end of the counter.

Felicia smiled at her aunt. She knew they appreciated her help. She’d grown up coming to the diner with them, after school and during summer breaks. They’d always put in long hours. As she got older she was able to help them rather than just tag along. She’d never planned on letting the diner become her life. But things happen, plans change… and Felicia’s plans had changed radically. The summer after she had graduated high school was supposed to be her last summer in Ridgeville, she was going to go to college, something both her aunts were exceptionally proud of her for. Unfortunately, that was also the summer that Thelma had broken her ankle. She’d slipped on the stairs at home near the beginning of August and had spent the next eight weeks laid up in bed, with her ankle in a cast.

Felicia put college off, for a semester. That had turned into two semesters, and then a year. And eventually Felicia had just put aside the dream of going to college because she knew her aunts needed her at the diner. She really hadn’t minded not going away to school. She did enjoy the diner, even with all the hard work involved.

What she really missed was having the time to take pictures. Felicia remembered when she had carried her camera everywhere with her. Now it collected dust on a shelf at home. She’d been planning to major in photojournalism, but really Felicia had just always loved taking pictures, so it seemed a natural choice.

She stared wistfully at her photographs lining the walls of the diner. She didn’t know what she missed more, playing softball, or taking pictures of it.


	7. Chapter Seven

Since arriving in Ridgeville, Sebastian had been going non-stop. After that first day, with the fire truck parade and exhibition games, the shooting schedule had been grueling. Working with child actors meant that their scenes had to be worked around, due to restrictions placed on how many hours a day they could work. It also meant many takes to get just the right reaction from his young co-stars. Seb didn’t mind too much, it was fun to work with the kids, especially the three girls playing his daughters. He was just happy to be playing a part that didn’t require him to be an asshole or the bad guy.

When he wasn’t shooting scenes, Seb was getting softball lessons from Sam Thomas. The man was relentless and it was easy to see why he was the head of the softball league. His daughters were much better than Seb and Sam often included them in the lessons, having the girls pitch or catch as he instructed Seb on the nuances of softball.

He’d just finished up a somewhat embarrassing batting practice –embarrassing because he couldn’t hit pitches thrown by a twelve year old—when he noticed that the sky seemed unusually dark.

“What time is it?” he asked Sam, wondering if they had been practicing longer than he realized.

Sam checked his watch. “’Bout five-thirty,” he answered. Looking up at the clouds gathering overhead he shook his head. “Looks like we’re in for a thunderstorm.”

Sebastian thanked Sam and headed back to the hotel, where most of the cast and crew were staying. He wasn’t sure if they had any more scenes blocked out for today, but if Sam was right about the weather, it might not matter. In the lobby, he saw Carl Link, the director, who waved him over.

Glad for any excuse to avoid Christy, who always seemed to be lurking in the lobby when he went through, Sebastian joined Carl on the floral couch.

“We just got the weather forecast for the next week,” Carl said. “We’re going to reschedule the scenes we had planned for this evening and we’ll see what happens in the morning, but they’re predicting heavy thunderstorms every day for the next five to seven days.”

“Oh, shit... are you serious? What will that mean for our schedule?” Seb asked.

“Unfortunately it means everything is on hold. We’ll keep you updated, but if we do get the rain they’re calling for, we’re going to lose a lot of time. If it’s raining in the morning you can assume that the day’s shots will be cancelled. Make the most of it I guess, if you can find anything to do around here,” Carl joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sebastian retreated to his room, glad for the chance to call it an early day. He stripped out of his dusty clothing and turned on the shower, letting it reach the perfect temperature for his sore muscles. Who knew playing softball for hours on end every day would make him so tired.

As he showered, he considered his options. He hadn’t had a chance to go back to that diner since his first full day in town. Maybe he’d go and try one of their burgers, he’d heard good things about the food.  Seb turned off the shower but the sound of pounding water continued. The rainstorm had started, as promised. Toweling off he peered out the window at the rain falling in sheets.

 _Never mind_ , he thought shaking his head, _I’ll just stay in_. With the towel wrapped loosely around his waist, he lay back on the bed, stretching out. He lay there, listening to the rain and the low rumble of thunder in the distance. Even though he had every intention of getting back up and getting dressed so he could find dinner, Sebastian found himself being soothed to sleep by the rain.

When he woke the next morning there was still the constant sound of pouring rain. Seb ran a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. He checked his phone, no new messages. It looked like had a free day. He dressed in clean clothes and looked in the mirror. His hair was a mess; he’d fallen asleep with it wet and it seemed to have a mind of its own. With a sigh, he attempted to tame it.

Forty five minutes later he headed down to the lobby, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that another employee was behind the check in desk and not the bubbly, annoying Christy. A few other crewmembers were hanging around the lobby, discussing their plans for the day. He approached them, smiling easily.

“Hey Sebastian!” Ricky, one of the assistant producers, greeted him. “Some of us are taking a drive up to Fort Wayne for the day. Any chance you’d like to join us?”

Seb smiled at Ricky’s slow drawl. He knew Ricky was from somewhere in the South, Alabama he thought it was. To Seb, it made everything Ricky said sound easy going and unhurried, even if Ricky was going for excited or urgent. He thought about the offer. It would be nice to go to a bigger city, one where there would certainly be a Starbucks, but it would also mean a long drive in a car with a bunch of people he was only somewhat acquainted with.

“No thanks guys, I appreciate the offer though,” he said, politely declining the trip. “I think I’ll just hang around here, go over my lines and maybe hit up that diner in town again.”

“Well, alright then,” Ricky said, sounding disappointed. “Have a good day.”

Seb nodded and wandered over to the front desk, checking out the brochures that Christy had tried to push on him when he first arrived. He spun the small rack on the counter, skimming the covers of the brochures. Ridgeville didn’t have much in the way of attractions. A public park with a swimming pool. The softball fields. A drive-in movie theater, _shit did those things still exist_? He stopped the rack, sliding out a brochure. 

Home Plate Diner, the place he’d gone for coffee and ice cream. He thumbed open the brochure and looked at the pictures, eyes skimming over the text. There was a gorgeous photo of the outside of the diner, a similar one that featured the inside and then a picture of the staff. He recognized the two older women he had seen before. They stood next to a striking woman with light brown hair, a tall guy with ridiculous sideburns and another, petite young woman. The caption underneath the picture read: Pictured are Carla and Thelma Ryan, owners of Home Plate with their niece Felicia and employees Madison Jones and Kelly Michaels.

Sebastian’s eyes were drawn to the niece of the owners, Felicia. Her sweet smile lit up her face and he knew she must have been the woman he caught a glimpse of when he was in the diner. The one who had made him think of “Anne”.

He flipped through the rest of the brochure noticing a small byline on the last page that stated _all photos by Felicia Ryan_. He wondered if she had taken the photographs that hung on the walls of the diner. Judging by the brochure, he guessed that she had.

That settled it. He was going to go over to the diner, try the food everyone was raving about, and maybe meet this Felicia. Seb ran up to his room, taking the stairs two at a time and grabbed the keys to his rental car before running back down the stairs. He had nothing better to do; he hoped it would at least kill a few hours.

Sebastian drove carefully through the rain over the unfamiliar streets. Even with that, it didn’t take long to reach the diner. The rain didn’t let up during the short drive, it only seemed to get heavier. As he turned into the parking lot, he noticed that it seemed empty.  Peering through the windshield and the rain, he saw that there didn’t appear to be any lights on in the diner. Frowning he opened the door to the car and decided to make a run for it.

He sprinted across the parking lot, towards the door. By the time he reached the awning over the entrance he was soaking wet. He pulled on the door handle, but it didn’t budge. It was then that he noticed the handwritten sign taped to the inside of the door. _Closed due to inclement weather. Sorry!_ Seb cupped his hands against the glass, trying to see if anyone was inside. The diner appeared empty.

“Shit,” he cursed loudly. He stomped back to the car, not bothering to run. He couldn’t get any wetter. He slid into the car, slamming the door after him. He slammed the heel s of his palms against the steering wheel in frustration. Why was he so annoyed? Because the diner was closed and that meant he’d have to eat at the hotel? Or because the diner was closed and he wouldn’t have a chance to see the girl, Felicia, that reminded him of “Anne”.

With that thought in mind, with her in mind, he drove back to the hotel. First he intended to change into some dry clothes, then find something to eat. Then he was going to lock himself in his room and, with any luck, call _her_.

Less than an hour later, he was up in his room, sitting on the edge of the bed with phone in hand. He knew it was a long shot, every other time he’d talked to her it had been late, it wasn’t even lunch time. Still, he dialed the number and waited through the usual automated messages, pressing the corresponding numbers. He waited, holding his breath until he heard the confirmation. “The operator you have requested is available. Please wait while we connect you.”

 “Hello, this is Anne.”

He exhaled as he heard her voice. “Wow, um, wow. I didn’t think I’d be able to talk to you. I mean, I hoped, but… wow.”

“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you. This isn’t really my usual time. But I’m glad.” He imagined he could hear a smile in her voice.

“I didn’t think I’d have time to talk to you while I was here, on my, uh, business trip.”

“You got some unexpected time off?” she asked.

“You could say that, the weather hasn’t been cooperating.”

“Really?” she asked. “That’s kind of what happened to me.” She laughed.

“You know, this is going to sounds all kinds of stupid, but I swear I saw someone that…” he trailed off. “Never mind, like I said, it sounded stupid.”

“No, what was it? What were you going to say?”

“OK, well,” he swallowed. “I swear I saw someone that could have been you, I mean the way you described yourself, the way I picture you,” he said in a rush.

“Oh,” she said. “Oh, really?”

“Uhhm, yeah, I told you it sounded stupid.”

“No! No it doesn’t. I’ll tell you a secret,” she said slowly. “I saw someone too that reminded of you.”

“Just reminded you?” he asked.

She laughed again. “You said you were afraid you sounded stupid. If I told you, I’d really sound stupid.”

“No, no you wouldn’t,” he assured her.

“OK, well…  just so you know, I’m not really supposed to do this; talk about where I live, or give out personal details, I’m sure you can understand why. Since we’re confessing though, I feel like you’re a good guy…” she trailed off, then cleared her throat. “So there’s this movie that’s being filmed where I live…”

Sebastian nearly dropped his phone. “A movie? Really?” he asked, trying to sound calm.

“Yeah,” she continued, “I know it’s dumb, I live in such a small town and anyway, they’re filming this movie here and one of the actors… well, it’s how I pictured you.”

Seb’s mind was racing. It had to be a coincidence, right? There was no way, no way on earth that he was in the same town as the woman he’d been talking to, having phone sex with for the last few weeks. No way. “Uhhm, oh, OK. Is, uhm, is, I mean, uhh, what’s the movie about?”

She laughed. “You’re going to think this sounds cheesy. It’s about softball. Girls softball,” she answered. She laughed again. “Wait. Why did you ask what the movie was about and not what actor I thought you looked like?”

Seb ran his free hand through his hair, clutching the phone tightly in the other. “Well, who did you think I looked like then?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

“Promise not to laugh?”

Sebastian’s heart was beating a mile a minute. Chris’ words of warning ran through his head. “I promise,” he said quietly.

“Sebastian Stan,” she said simply, her voice low.

Sebastian felt his breath catch in his throat. He was in the same town as her. She’d even seen him. He didn’t know how to respond.

He was silent so long that she laughed, awkwardly this time. “Am I really far off the mark? I’m sorry, it was just a silly fantasy.”

“No. It’s not silly,” he whispered. Then more loudly, “Not silly. Can I ask… do you live in Ridgeville, Indiana?”

“What?”

He could hear the panic in her voice, the same panic he was feeling.

“Ridgeville,” he repeated. “The movie about their softball program? Joe Robbins?” He prayed he wasn’t making a mistake.

“How did you know?” she asked. “Are you… you’re not in Ridgeville too are you?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I am. I’m…” he hesitated. If he told her, what would her reaction be? What would the potential fallout be? “I’m in the movie.”

“Oh my God,” she said softly.

He exhaled loudly. “Yeah.”

“So…  you’re here in Ridgeville. And in the movie. Was I close, are you maybe like Sebastian Stan’s stunt double?” She laughed. “Does he even have a stunt double in this movie?”

“No, no I don’t.”

She laughed again. “Ok, I didn’t think he did…” There was a pause and he could hear her replaying his words. “Whoa, _you_ don’t. _You_ don’t have a stunt double?”

“No, I don’t. Not for this movie.”

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry or hang up on you,” she said, her words running together.

“Don’t hang up. Please?”

“So you’re serious, you’re not shitting me? I _knew_ your name wasn’t Steve.”

“I couldn’t be any more serious. Was it that obvious that Steve was a fake name?” he asked.

“Well, you weren’t very good at answering to it. You didn’t seem to notice when I stopped using it either… Sebastian.”

The sound of his name in her sweet voice was something he didn’t think he would ever hear. “The rain’s pretty much brought filming to a halt. I don’t know when or if I’ll have any time off again. Do you think, would it be to forward of me to ask… to meet you? Now that we know we’re both in the same city?” He tapped his foot on the floor, impatient and nervous at the same time.

She sighed heavily. “I’m supposed to say no. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do in this situation? As if there’s been anyone in _this_ situation before.”

Sebastian braced himself for the definite no he was sure was coming. He knew she had no reason to agree to meet him. She was probably better at acting than he was, and stupidly he’d formed an attachment to her.

Her voice interrupted his thoughts. “But you know what? I’m going to say yes. Yes. I’d love to meet you!”

Before she had a chance to change her mind he wanted to choose a time and place. “It’s supposed to rain all week, but it’s miserable out today. I’d ask if you wanted to meet at the diner in town, but I was already there this morning and they’re closed. Why don’t we plan on meeting there tomorrow, say for lunch? If it’s not closed again. Would that work for you?”

 “I think I can manage that. I’m pretty sure they’ll be open tomorrow for lunch,” she said with a note of something he couldn’t quite place in her voice.

“Great! That’s really great.” He couldn’t help the grin that was spreading across his face. “So, tomorrow at lunch time then.”

“It’s a date. Tomorrow. Goodbye, Sebastian.”

Sebastian was reluctant to hang up. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” But before he ended the call, he realized that he didn’t know if Anne was her real name or not. “Wait! What should I call you? I mean, Anne, is that your real name?”

“Felicia.”


	8. Chapter Eight

Felicia hung up the phone, feeling elated and nervous and wondering what the hell she’d gotten herself into. She considered pinching herself, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She’d gone against company policy and common sense and set up a meeting with a caller. But that wasn't even the craziest part. Her caller, the man she'd pictured as Sebastian Stan, was in fact _Sebastian Stan_.

It was like some kind of dream or ridiculous romance novel. Except she hadn't just bumped into a celebrity in a coffee shop and scored a date, she had met him as a caller on a phone sex line.

Well, at least she wouldn't have to worry about keeping that secret from him. She was still stunned though. _Sebastian Stan_.

She had to tell Bev. Now. She could leave out the part where they had been talking for the last few weeks on the phone, but she couldn't wait to tell her friend that she had a date with _the_ Sebastian Stan.

She called Bev, something she rarely did because her friend never seemed to have time to talk on the phone.

Bev answered after three rings. "Fe? Is everything okay? You _never_ call. Was this a butt dial?"

"Bev, are you sitting down?"

"I am... are you okay? What's up?"

“Do you have time to talk?”

“Sure, the kids are at day camp, so I have the house to myself for a little bit. Now, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

"I'm okay, Bev. No, I'm not. I mean, nothing is wrong, but Bev... I have a date with Sebastian Stan!" she babbled.

"Are you kidding? You're not kidding, are you? Oh my God!"

"No joke, Bev. I'm meeting him tomorrow for a lunch date. I'm dying inside; I'm going to be a nervous wreck."

"Well, obviously you made a good first impression, if he asked you out. Or did you ask him out? Did he come into the diner? I need details!"

“Yeah, he did come in to the diner. He asked me. I’m still freaking out though. Bev, _Sebastian Stan_!” The more time that passed since she had hung up with him the more nervous Felicia got.

“Listen, calm down. He obviously saw something in you that he liked. You’ll be fine. And it’s a lunch date, right? So no pressure, it’s not like he’s taking you out on a romantic dinner date with wine and roses,” Bev said, laughing.

“No, you’re right. He’s just coming to the diner. And I’ll have to work in the morning, so I won’t even have to worry about what to wear.” Felicia paused, replaying what she had just said. “I have to work in the morning, I can’t even dress up! Should I dress up? I wonder what he likes?”

“Whoa, stop. It’s going to be fine. Besides, how are you supposed to know what he likes, it’s your first date.”

Felicia wished she could tell Bev just how much she did know about what Sebastian liked. “Oh shit,” she blurted out, “I don’t even own a pair of heels!”

“What are you talking about? Why would you wear heels to work?”

“Nothing, never mind. It was just something I uh, read in an interview with him once.”

“That’s the first thing you need to forget,” Bev said. “Forget about every interview you’ve read or watched. Don’t assume you know what he’s looking for because you heard him say one thing or another. Just treat it like any other date and get to know him for _him_.”

“Bev,  you’re a genius.”

“So they say. Now listen, are you going to be all right? I’ve got to go pick up the kids, but you call me if you need any more moral support before the date.”

“Okay, I will,” Felicia promised.

“And you promise that you’ll call me the second the date is over so you can tell me _everything_.”

Felicia giggled at the way her friend emphasized “everything”. “I promise,” she said solemnly.

Felicia hung up the phone feeling slightly calmer. She knew that the diner would be open tomorrow, they couldn’t justify being closed two days in a row, and besides, tomorrow was Tuesday, they’d need to be open to receive their regular deliveries. She hoped that the rain would keep most of the customers away, because she intended to be able to sit down and actually have lunch with Sebastian. Her stomach fluttered at the though.

Just to cover her bases, she called her aunts.

“Hello?” Thelma answered.

“Hi, Aunt Thel.”

“Felicia sweetheart, are you enjoying your day off?”

“I am. How about you and Aunt Carla, are you guys relaxing?”

“Yes, it’s been a nice change. We went home this morning after we closed up and we’ve just been catching up on our shows.”

“That’s good,” Felicia said warmly. “I have a favor to ask of you.”

“What’s that?”

“I think we’ll still be slow tomorrow, so I wondered if you would mind if I took the afternoon off? I’ll talk to Madison and ask Kelly to come in early, but I sort of have a date, for lunch tomorrow and—“

“A date! Oh, that’s wonderful! Who is it dear? That nice delivery man from UPS?”

Felicia couldn’t even remember what the UPS man looked like, other than the fact that he wore shorts literally all year round. “Um, no. Not him.” She might as well tell the truth. “It’s with one of the actors that’s in town filming.”

“Well, that sounds lovely. Of course dear, of course you can take the time for your date. I’ll let Carla know, but I’m sure we can manage for one day without you.”

“Thanks Aunt Thel. I love you, tell Aunt Carla I love her too.”

“I will Felicia. We love you. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“See you then, bye.”

Felicia kept her phone in her hand, dialing Madison’s number. He didn’t pick up so she left him a short message explaining that she would be off for the day at lunch time.  Next, she called Kelly, who was only too glad to come in for extra hours. With staffing taken care of, Felicia only had to worry about preparing herself for the date.

“Oh God, what am I going to do?” she said aloud. This was one time she found herself wishing she had close girlfriends to go shopping with. If Bev hadn’t already talked her down once she would have called her friend again. It didn’t really matter anyway, there was nowhere close by to go shopping, Wal-Mart didn’t count. And she’d have to wear her uniform for the morning anyway. That settled it. She wasn’t going to worry about what she was wearing.

She laid out her clothes for the next day, the uniform shirt that resembled the ones the teams wore, and black slacks. While she didn’t really have a choice about her clothing, what she wore under her clothing was a different story. She picked out a red satin bra and matching panties. Both had a delicate lace trim and even if Sebastian never saw them, they’d make her feel more confident.

Felicia wanted to take things one date at a time. That is if things even went past the first date. She knew what he looked like, and she knew –or she felt like she knew—a lot about him. But what if she wasn’t what he was expecting? Her phone persona wasn’t the same as the way she normally acted. The more she thought about it, the more worried she got that Sebastian would take a good look at her and turn around and walk out.

Had he said he thought he saw someone who looked like her? When had he seen her? Felicia was pretty sure that he hadn’t spotted her the day he’d come in for ice cream. She had so much nervous energy and wasn’t used to having so much free time. It didn’t feel right taking calls when she had a date with Sebastian tomorrow, so she decided to give her trailer a thorough cleaning.

She wasn’t a messy person, and living alone plus spending so much time at work meant that she never had to spend much time cleaning. But she still threw herself into cleaning everything she could reach. It worked to take her mind off things and pass the time.

When she had cleaned everything she could think of, she headed into the bathroom and started to fill the tub. She rarely had time for a bath; it was faster to take a shower instead of waiting for the tub to fill up. Testing the temperature, she undressed as the tub finished filling and eased herself into the water. She didn’t have any bubble bath to add, but that didn’t matter. She soaked, enjoying her bath leisurely before she washed her hair and shaved her legs.

And when she fell into bed, she was tired enough that she actually slept instead of spending half the night tossing and turning with worry.

The next morning however, the nervousness was back. "Do I look okay?" Felicia asked Madison, who was idly leaning over the grill, waiting for an order.

“You _always_ look okay. Besides, he’s just coming to have lunch with you, right?"

Of course Madison had no idea why she was so nervous, beyond first date nervous. “Oh, um, right, just lunch.” She forced a smile, touching her hair nervously.

Madison looked at her seriously. “Fe, if he doesn’t like you, he’s an idiot.”

“Thanks Madison. I don’t think you have to worry. I’ve done enough of that."  She smiled and went back to the vegetables she was chopping for salads.

Even though the diner wasn’t busy, the morning passed quickly. A little too quickly for Felicia’s taste. She still wasn’t sure she was ready to be face-to-face, on a date with Sebastian Stan.

She was wiping down a recently vacated booth when a hand landed on her shoulder.

“Hey," a familiar voice said.

Felicia jumped and heard a chuckle.

"Did I scare you?"

She twisted around to see Sebastian Stan standing behind her. Felicia’s heart raced and she was pretty sure her mouth was hanging open. She blinked, making sure she wasn’t seeing things. Nope, he was definitely there. _Don’t pass out, don’t pass out_. She forced her jaw closed, trying to get her brain to function. She wanted to say hello, or something witty, but all that came out was “Uhhhh…”

Sebastian watched her, a worried look in his eyes. He shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Are you ok? I really did scare you, didn’t I?”

“Of course not,” Felicia lied, her tongue finally working. She hoped she wasn’t sweaty or flushed. Without intending to, she stared at Sebastian, unable to stop herself from imagining what _he_ would look like sweaty and flushed.

He smiled and shook his head. “Yeah, sure,” he said forcing a bigger smile. “I really didn’t meant to scare you. Can I start over?” He held out his hand for a handshake. “Hi, I’m Sebastian.

Felicia smiled nervously and eyed his outstretched hand. Would her heart jump out of her chest if she touched him? Still praying she wouldn’t pass out, she accepted his handshake. “I know,” she breathed. “I’m Felicia.”

Sebastian stepped back, looking at her closely. “You look exactly the way I pictured you.”

Felicia blinked, unsure how to respond. Of course, _he_ looked exactly the way she had pictured.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make things weird,” Sebastian apologized.  “Thank you for agreeing to meet me. So lunch?”

Felicia nodded. “Here, we can sit here. If that’s okay with you?” She gestured to the booth she had just cleaned. “Let me just get rid of this,” she held up the rag. “And I’ll let everyone know I’m off for the day.”

Sebastian slid into the booth and Felicia walked towards the kitchen, willing herself not to look back at him.

When she returned she sat down at the booth, opposite from Sebastian. He smiled at her and held up the menu. “So, what do you recommend? What’s _good_ here?”

The way he emphasized the word “good” made Felicia blush. “Um, well everything?” she stammered.

Sebastian looked at her intently before smirking.

“What?" she asked

 “Uhm, nothing," he said innocently. “I’ve heard good things about the burgers, so I think I’m going to try one of those.” He pointed to one of the loaded burgers on the menu.

“Lunch is my treat, or I guess I should say it’s on the house.” Felicia realized that they’d have to wait for Kelly to come over and take their order. “Sorry. It shouldn’t be long before she gets to us.” The diner wasn’t as full as it normally was at lunch time, but there were a few diehard regular customers who had braved the rain. Felicia stole a glance at Sebastian, afraid to be caught staring. He didn’t seem to be too wet even though it was still raining heavily outside. He must have had an umbrella.

Then it dawned on her that she was staring, again. “Oh, sorry," she stammered.

Before Sebastian could respond, Kelly appeared with her order pad. Felicia gave her their order and soon they were alone once again.

"This is kind of blowing my mind,” he admitted. He lowered his voice, leaning closer. “I mean, when we talked, it was… you were phenomenal. But never once did I think I’d be sitting across from you having lunch.”

“I never imagined it either. I mean, this is pretty crazy… I have to ask, how did you know what I looked like?”

“Oh, I asked when I came in, I talked to your Aunt Thelma.”

Felicia shook her head. “No, I mean before, yesterday on the phone you said you thought you had seen me?”

“Well, I was here once before, when I first got into town.”

“I know, I saw you—“

“You did? I imagined I saw you. I mostly saw your hair.” He reached across the table to touch the strands that had escaped her ponytail. “But then I saw a brochure for the diner…”

“Oh!” Felicia had forgotten the brochure they’d had printed. It was silly, really. There were copies of it at the hotel in town and at the chamber of commerce, but she didn’t think anyone had actually ever looked at it.

“Your pictures are amazing. Did you take the ones in here too?” He gestured to her photographs lining the walls.

“I did. Thank you?”

“Why did that sound like a question?”

“Sorry. It’s just unreal, you here, _with me_. Talking about my photography.” Felicia found herself unable to look Sebastian in the eye. “Thank you,” she said genuinely.

Just then Kelly came back with their orders, placing the plates in front of them. “Enjoy,” she said, winking at Felicia.

Felicia watched as Sebastian began eating. She found herself fascinated by his mouth, as he drank from the straw in his glass of Diet Coke and took bites of his burger and fries.

 “Aren’t you hungry?” he asked.

Felicia dropped her gaze to her plate and stuffed a few fries in her mouth. She chewed furiously and then swallowed before looking up for find Sebastian watching her with half a smile on his face.

“Ugh,” she said, pushing her plate aside. She folded her arms on the table and buried her head in embarrassment.

“What’s wrong? Isn’t your food any good?”

Felicia refused to lift her head, wondering if she was in the middle of a bad dream. She’d basically been making a fool of herself, drooling over Sebastian Stan instead of actually having lunch with him. She only hoped that no one else in the diner was paying attention. She felt Sebastian’s hand rest on the top of her head.

“Felicia… is everything alright?”

“No,” she mumbled, burying her head deeper into her arms. “I’m an idiot.”

Sebastian removed his hand. “Oh, I’m sorry. This was just too weird. I just thought… I’m sorry. I’ll just leave.”

Felicia sat up straight. “No! Don’t go. It’s not weird. I mean, it _is_ weird, but don’t go.”

Sebastian stopped, halfway out of the booth. He hesitated, stuck in an awkward half sitting-half standing position. Felicia fought the urge to hide her face again. He clearly wanted to leave.

Instead of sitting back down, Sebastian stood, but he didn’t leave. Instead, he came to sit beside Felicia, nudging her over so they shared the same side of the booth.

She turned her head to look at him, noticing that he was even more gorgeous close up. Sebastian smiled at her, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.  I was as shocked as you were that we were in the same place. I never, for one minute, thought when I dialed that number that I’d end up talking to someone I’d feel such a strong connection to. I understand if you don’t feel the same way. If you want me to leave, just say the word and I won’t come back… or call you again.”

Felicia could feel him tapping his foot, he wasn’t close enough that they were touching, but he was making the booth shake slightly. She hesitated. She didn’t want him to leave, she did feel the same way, but she couldn’t seem to find the right words to tell him that.

Sebastian watched her, the smile slowly falling from his face. He started to slide from the booth, clearly ready to leave.

Actions speak louder than words, so Felicia did the only thing she could think of. She grabbed his arm, stopping his slow departure. Sebastian turned to look at her, confusion on his face.

Felicia leaned close and brought her lips to his. “Stay,” she whispered, and then her mouth was on his and she kissed him. It was graceless and needy and maybe even bordering on desperate, wanting nothing more than to show him just how much she wanted him to stay. How much she _wanted_ him.

A million things were running through her head. How amazing his lips felt, how good he smelled. The soft scrape of his stubbled face against hers. Her heart was racing again, this time because she was kissing, full out kissing, Sebastian Stan. And he was kissing her back. Remembering they were in public, and in her public place of business, Felicia reluctantly ended the kiss.

"Felicia," Sebastian mumbled, pulling back a little, making a strangled sound.

 Yeah?" Her voice came out as an unintentionally husky whisper and Sebastian flushed before clearing his throat.

"You want me to stay?”

Felicia nodded, and then swallowed thickly, willing herself not to screw this up. "Do you want to come back to my place?”

Sebastian’s eyes darkened and the corners of his mouth twitched. "Are you ending our date?"

Felicia swallowed again, feeling the blush creeping up her cheeks. "Not ending it. Just moving it to a… more _private_ location."

Sebastian’s lips twitched again and he shifted in his seat. "I'd love to."

Felicia could only nod, preoccupied with his mouth, wanting to kiss him again.

Sebastian slid from the booth, offering Felicia his hand. She let his fingers entwine with hers and they walked out of the diner together, oblivious to everything else around them.


	9. Chapter Nine

Felicia spent the drive back to her trailer listening to her heart pound in time with the rain hitting her windshield. Sebastian was following her in his rental car, so she drove slowly. The last thing she wanted to do was lose him between the diner and her place.

They both got caught in a downpour, running up to her front door. Once they were inside, Felicia felt almost claustrophobic. She was glad that they were alone; it was hard enough trying to be calm about Sebastian without an audience, but being _alone_ with him in her home made her feel like everything was  surreal. Was this really happening? She kicked off her sneakers, leaving them on the mat inside the door. Sebastian followed suite with his boots. They stood inside the doorway, shoulder to shoulder, both unsure how to proceed.

Felicia finally broke the tension. “This is it. Would you like the grand tour?” Her trailer was small, but she really didn’t need much space, living by herself.

Sebastian stepped forward and she was mesmerized by the way his slightly damp white shirt clung to the muscles in his back. He motioned towards her computer before speaking. “So, is this where the magic happens?” He turned around, a crooked smile on his face.

“What?” She was caught off guard, her mind focused on how good Sebastian looked.

“This, is this where… when we… talked?” He ran his hand over the back of her chair, looking at her expectantly.

“It is,” she said with a nod. She stepped closer, her hand meeting his at the top of the chair. When her fingers brushed his, a tingle ran through her, sending a shiver down her spine. With a gasp, she pulled her hand away. Despite the heated kiss they had shared in the diner, Felicia wasn’t sure what was going to happen now that they were here.

Sebastian dropped his hand to his side and took a step back. He was smiling, but his smile looked awkward, forced.

She could smell him, the intoxicating scent of rain, wet denim, and some kind of soap that he had used. She didn’t know enough about men’s fragrances to place it, but whatever it was, he smelled good.

“Do you have any more of your photographs around?” he asked, pointing to the portrait hanging on the wall that she had taken of her aunts.

“Some,” she answered. She bent low, reaching towards the bottom shelf of her desk. Felicia felt her shirt ride up, exposing her back as she found the box of pictures. The room was quiet save for the rain outside and her own breathing.

Felicia straightened up, presenting him with a box of photographs. “I haven’t taken many… well _any_ pictures recently. But here are some of my favorites.”

Sebastian took the box and sat down on her loveseat. “Why haven’t you taken any pictures lately?” he asked as he opened the box.

Felicia shrugged. “I just haven’t had the time. It didn’t seem important, I guess.”

Sebastian shuffled through the pictures, pausing to look up at her. “It is important. You’re very talented. Do you still have your camera?”

Felicia stood, watching him look at her pictures. “I do,” she said.

“You should come take pictures while we film sometime,” he said offhandedly.

“I would, but I’m usually too busy. I’ve wanted to come watch you, but…” she trailed off, aware that Sebastian was watching her.

He smiled easily. “I thought you were going to say you didn’t have an interest in taking pictures of me.”  He laughed awkwardly. “Jeez, sorry. I sound like I’m fishing for compliments,” he added.

Felicia’s mind was reeling at the thought of taking pictures of Sebastian Stan. “No, that’s not it at all. You’re very photogenic.”

He sprawled back on the couch, leaving the box of pictures on the coffee table. “You’re welcome to take my picture now.”

She hesitated, wondering if he was making fun of her.

“I don’t mind, I mean, if you want to,” he said softly.

Felicia knew she would be stupid to pass up the opportunity to take pictures of Sebastian. “I’ll be right back,” she said. She practically ran down the hall to her bedroom where her camera was sitting on the top shelf of the closet. She made herself walk back more slowly; she didn’t want to appear too eager.

When she came back, Sebastian was right where she left him, but he seemed to have sprawled out even more, almost obscenely, on the loveseat. He looked comfortable, at ease, and she smiled when she saw him waiting there.

He smiled back. “You found your camera,” he said simply.

Felicia adjusted a few settings, compensating for the darkness of the rainy day. She couldn’t think of anything to say, so she just started snapping shots. Sebastian smirked as the shutter clicked the first time and began moving with a practiced ease. He stayed sitting, but he adjusted his position, changed his expression, giving her what she hoped would be amazing candid shots.

Through the camera’s lens, she memorized the curve of his lips, the strong line of his jaw, the way his hair has flopped down over his forehead. She caught it all on film, committing it to memory at the same time.

This went on for twenty minutes. Felicia let herself get lost in the technical side of taking the pictures, but it was only so that she could catch the perfect angles, the right lighting to focus on the gorgeous face and body before her. His white shirt highlighted his smooth, tanned muscles perfectly and the way the dark denim of his jeans clung to his thighs should have been illegal.

Sebastian cleared his throat, sitting up straighter and she lowered the camera, reluctantly, to look at him without the buffer of the camera between them. Somehow, things seemed more intimate now, the way he filled her small living room with his presence, his scent, as if he had claimed his territory. Felicia knew he had put a claim on her, whether he knew it or not.

“I can tell you’re very passionate about taking pictures,” he said as he motioned her over to sit next to him.

Felicia sat down, putting as much distance between herself and Sebastian as she could, which wasn’t much. “It helps to be photographing a subject I’m passionate about,” she answered without thinking.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow challengingly. “Passionate?” he asked, his eyes darkening. He slid over, closing the small distance between them and rested his hands on her thighs.

Felicia bit her bottom lip, a nervous habit she could never seem to stop herself from doing. She nodded, ever so slightly, feeling her breath catch in her chest. She trembled; sitting this close to Sebastian with his hands on her was almost overwhelming. She felt a heat spread through her, pooling low in her belly.

“You’re shaking. Are you okay?” he asked. His eyes searched her face with concern.

“No,” she said, finding her voice. “I’m fine. I’m more than fine.” She bit her lip again, eliciting a soft groan from Sebastian.

Sebastian kissed her with a slow fierceness, a kiss she fervently returned. The heat he’d sparked in her spread like a wildfire, her hands aching to touch every inch of his tanned, muscular skin.

She opened up to him immediately, her mouth granting access to his searching tongue. His kiss was full of longing, so desperate and searching that she whimpered, pulling him closer. She clung to him, pouring all her nervous energy, all her frustration, into their embrace. When they pulled apart, slowly, reluctantly, he smiled at her, his eyes half-lidded as his tongue swept out over his lower lip, making her cheeks flush.  He touched her fingers to her face, lightly tracing her freckles, feeling her heated skin.

He waited, his mouth curling into a sly, contented smile. Felicia knew that he was letting her take the lead, waiting for her to decide on the next move. She gave in and touched his face, tracing his jaw line, across his chin, her fingertips stopping against his lips. She lingered there, eyes locked on his.

“Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?” he asked softly, lips brushing her fingers.

Felicia nodded. She dropped her hand from his face, lightly resting it on his chest. “I do,” she said. “Everything about this has been crazy, from the first time we talked on the phone, right up to this very second.”

Sebastian nodded, waiting for her to continue.

“This isn’t… I mean, I’m not… I don’t do this kind of thing regularly. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way about anyone. But you’re my exception. I want you.” Felicia brought her lips to his, sealing her words with a kiss. She parted her lips, breathlessly and combed her fingers through his dark, messy hair.

The feeling of her fingers on his scalp seduced him and he groaned against her parted lips, his tongue hot and searching as he deepened the kiss. Sebastian pulled her into his lap, running his hands up her sides, touching, exploring. A low sound broke from his lips as he thrust against her, with enough friction to tease even through their clothes.

She wanted him, wanted to feel his heat everywhere. To be naked, to feel skin on skin. To touch, to taste. But there was no rush, they had time. She ran her fingers through his hair, enjoying the look it brought to his face. Sebastian kissed her neck, his breath whispering against her skin, then pressing more insistently until a quiet moan escaped her lips.

Sebastian curved his hands around her back. He lifted his mouth from her neck and Felicia looked into his gorgeous eyes. His gaze was intense and she squirmed in his lap. Sebastian groaned and lifted his hands to her hair, pulling it from the ponytail she wore. Her hair fell around her shoulders and he sighed, kissing her forehead, working his way back to her neck, as he brushed the hair aside softly. Felicia cupped her hand on his cheek, urging him to continue.

Felicia’s head was spinning; she was in the middle of what she would have described as her biggest fantasy. She was making out with Sebastian Stan. His hands were on her, his lips were teasing her, arousing her. And she could tell that he was aroused too. The way he had her pressed against his lap, it would have been impossible not to notice.

Sebastian’s lips moved from her neck, across her jaw to her mouth. He nipped at her bottom lip, biting it gently. “Do you know how frustrating it is when you bite your lip?” he asked.

Felicia laughed softly. “You’re one to talk. I’ve seen _so many_ pictures of _you_ biting your lips…” She punctuated her words by trailing a finger down his jaw and across his kiss-swollen lips. She quickly replaced her finger with her lips, kissing the corners of his mouth and softly biting his bottom lip.  He kissed back, his lips working fiercely against hers, his hands cupping her breasts through her shirt.

Sebastian broke the kiss, his breath coming in short pants. “Are you sure?” he questioned her.

Felicia nodded and bit her lip.  She looked into his blue eyes, her heart pounding. “Bedroom, down the hall,” she pointed as she spoke. She started to slide off Sebastian’s lap so they could walk down the hall, but he caught her, gripping her tightly around her waist and scooped her into his arms, carrying her easily down the short hallway.

He laid Felicia back against the bed gently, and he fell with her, bracing an arm against the bed. Not a moment later, his other hand slipped under her shirt, and caressing her sides and chest. She gasped lightly, her hands quickly finding his hair. She tangled them in the dark strands, pulling him into a kiss. He smirked, his tongue sliding along her bottom lip.

Felicia parted her mouth, not wanting to tease, but wanting intimacy. His tongue slipped past her lips, exploring her mouth. His chest was against hers, pinning her to the soft bed.

Sebastian left her mouth, eliciting a sigh of disappointment. His lips pressed against her neck, trailing kisses downward. Felicia turned her head, letting out a soft moan as his kisses became harder, until she was letting out soft cries.

“Not yet,” he whispered, dragging his tongue along her neck. Felicia shivered as his tongue ran along the shell of her ear. She gasped and Sebastian chuckled before he leaned down and kissed her lips.

The kiss was short and intense and then Sebastian eased himself onto the bed, grasped Felicia by the waist again and pulled her atop him so that she was straddling him. She ran her hands under his white t-shirt and as she looked into his eyes, lifted the shirt over his head. She lowered her body against his and began to kiss him passionately. They lay there for a moment, his arms wrapped around her.

Felicia traced the lines of his abs, watching as he shuddered lightly under her touch. She paused when she reached the edge of his jeans, looking up at him, biting her lip and then began to unbutton them. She slowly pulled the zipper down, purposely letting her hand graze the bulge in his pants, making him squirm. He lifted his hips slightly, allowing her to slide the jeans down and off his legs.

Felicia drank in the sight of Sebastian, lying on her bed in only a pair of black boxers, his hard cock creating a bulge. She ran her hands along his stomach and brought her leg across his body so that she was straddling him. She leaned down to kiss him, her hair brushing his face, when he said in a low whisper, "You’re wearing _way_ too many clothes."

He ran his hands along her sides, sliding her blue uniform shirt up as he went. Pulling it off, he revealed her red bra. “Beautiful,” he said huskily as his palms slid across the satin cups, his thumbs catching her nipples and making her gasp. He ran his hands down her stomach and with only a little fumbling, undid the button on her jeans. He paused, his hands carding through his hair, making it stand on end. “I hate to ruin the moment, but I don’t have a condom.”

“I’m on the pill,” Felicia answered. She smiled as Sebastian let out a relieved sigh and then helped him pull her jeans down over her hips and he watched her as stood up, moving away from him to allow them to fall to the floor. She straddled him once more; with only their underwear as a barrier between them, he started to grind his hips against her, his erection pressing against her in a delicious sensation. She gasped, letting out a moan of pleasure.

They kissed again as Sebastian's fingers ran up and down her back. She felt him reach for the clasp on her bra and with only a small amount of fumbling he undid the clasp. The red bra fell onto his chest and he looked up her bare breasts with a sultry smile. Tossing the bra aside, Sebastian pulled her closer to him, his hands reaching to cup her breasts while his mouth sought out her nipples.

Every nerve ending in Felicia’s body was screaming and she could feel herself getting wetter as his hands and mouth moved along her bare torso.

Sebastian lifted his head and smiled slyly, the corners of his mouth curling upwards. “Do you know how many times I imagined this happening? How many times we talked about things on the phone?”  He lifted Felicia easily, laying her back against the bed again, admiring her body.

“I did too,” she admitted, as she ran her hands along his chest and stomach, feeling the smooth muscles flex slightly under her touch. She arched her neck, meeting his lips while her hands roamed down, teasing the waistband of his boxers. She softly caressed his stomach, slipping her hands down along the front of his boxers, lightly squeezing his cock.

 Sebastian moaned appreciatively and knelt between Felicia’s outstretched legs, running his hands up and down her legs, caressing her from ankle to thigh. He grasped her right leg and began to kiss his way upwards, slowly. Felicia could feel the curl of his smile against her skin and she writhed with the sensation.

 He didn’t stop when he reached the juncture of her thighs, instead he slid first his fingers and then his lips across the damp red satin of her panties, making Felicia gasp.

Sebastian looked up at Felicia and smirked, before pulling her panties down her hips nonchalantly. He shifted his weight, moving upwards, sweetly kissing her, before grinding his hips against hers again.

Felicia moaned, digging her fingers into his back. She just wanted him to stop teasing her.

She reached for the waist of his boxers, tugging them with enough force to let him know she wanted them off, _now_. He lifted his hips and she slowly slid the material down. Felicia looked up at him, biting her lip with anticipation. Sebastian helped her push the boxers down to his ankles, and finally they were bared to each other.

Keeping her eyes on his beautiful face, Felicia reached out to grasp the base of his cock. She slid her hand slowly, from base to tip.  "Oh, _oh,_ " she said breathily. "Oh... you're not...circumcised?"

Sebastian blushed. "No." He shook his head. "Is that a problem?"  


"No," Felicia said with a smile. " _Not at all_ ,” she said with a seductive smile, stroking him from base to tip again.

With a growl, Sebastian lunged forward, pressing his body against hers. “I need you.”

He pressed his lips against hers, pulling her legs around his waist. Felicia closed her eyes as he leaned further forward, his hand still holding her legs around his waist as he thrust into her. She gasped, her eyes fluttering open as he finally entered her, her arms reaching up to wrap tightly around his neck. 

Sebastian’s head tilted back and he moaned, closing his eyes. “Felicia…” he groaned. He settled between her hips, pulling back slightly before sliding back into her at a maddeningly slow pace.

Felicia  arched her back, her heels pressing against his lower back, urging him on. He smirked, smoothly thrusting into her at a harder pace. Felicia cried out, her nails digging into Sebastian’s shoulders, driving him to lean down and press his lips against her neck.   


“Sebastian,” she sighed, arching her back to meet his thrusts. He pulled away slightly, stroking her legs, down, then up again before pulling them over his shoulders. Felicia cried out with pleasure at the new position as he sank his cock into her again.  


Felicia moaned, her hands searching for something to grip. She found his forearms, taut with the effort of holding himself up as he thrust into her. She dug her fingers into his arms, the pain seeming to make him increase the speed and force of his rhythmic movements. It wasn't long before she felt the heat and tension building low in her stomach and spreading throughout her body.

Soon, she couldn't take it anymore. Felicia began to circle her hips faster, repeating Sebastian’s name, calling him, urging him. Faster and harder he drove into her, until she throbbed with pleasure.

A loud moan of Sebastian’s name escaped her lips as she reached her climax. This set him over the edge, moaning in ecstasy that he was going to come. He thrust once, twice, a third and final time before uttering one soft moan, her name, as he came. He collapsed onto her, their sweaty bodies a tangle of limp limbs.

Felicia tried to catch her breath, her fingers finally releasing his forearms. Her legs fell limp, resting on his hips.

“You were amazing,” Felicia whispered as she ran a hand though his damp hair.

He smiled at her flirtatiously. “Aren’t I supposed to say that to you?”

“You could say almost anything you wanted right now and I wouldn’t argue,” she said, planting a kiss on his forehead.

Sebastian smirked, mimicking her kiss, placing his lips softly against her forehead. “What if I told you I was starving?” He rolled off her, spreading out on the bed, barely covering himself with a corner of the sheet.

Felicia giggled, she couldn’t help it. Sitting up, she stretched, feeling deliciously worn out. “I’ll go see what I have,” she announced, sliding out of bed and walking towards the kitchen.

As she reached the doorway, she heard Sebastian whistle appreciatively. Felicia refused to turn around and give him the satisfaction of seeing her blush. In the kitchen, she surveyed the fridge. There wasn’t much there, and even less that they could eat in bed. Spying a bowl of blueberries, she decided it would be the perfect finger food. She brought it back to the bedroom and found Sebastian lying where she had left him, with his eyes closed, arms and legs outstretched.

She sat next to him, gently and placed the cool ceramic bowl on his well-defined abs.

“That’s _cold_!” he hissed, his eyes popping open.

“Sorry,” Felicia said, holding back giggles. “I didn’t find much, but how do you feel about blueberries?”

“I love them,” he said, pushing himself into a sitting position.

Sebastian took a plump, ripe berry between his thumb and forefinger and brought it to Felicia’s lips. She parted her lips slightly, allowing him to pop the blueberry in her mouth. She smiled, picking up the largest berry she could find and held it up to his lips. He took the fruit, sucking her fingertips into his mouth as he accepted the berry.

“Mmm, _delicious_ ,” he said, his eyes sweeping over her body, giving his words double meaning.

They fed each other blueberries, one at a time. The ripe fruit stained their fingers and lips, each bite interrupted by kisses and suckling fingers, until the bowl was empty.

Sebastian looked from the empty bowl to Felicia. “That was… definitely better than just talking about sex.” He smiled lazily. “We should do it again sometime.”

That was all the prompting Felicia needed.


	10. Chapter Ten

When Felicia woke early the next morning, it was still raining and she was alone in bed. For a split second, she wondered if the previous night and the whole previous day had been a dream. She pulled the sheets close, covering her still naked body.

No, not a dream.

She wondered if Sebastian had left, had waited until she was asleep and made an escape. She sat up, swinging her feet over the edge of the bed. Her clothes lay strewn across the floor. As she bent to pick them up, she saw that Sebastian’s clothes were still on the floor too. His jeans and t-shirt anyway, so unless he had left in his underwear, he must still be close by.

She slipped on a pair of clean underwear and a tank top from her drawer, tossing yesterday’s clothing into her hamper. She laid Sebastian’s clothing on the end of the bed and went to find him.

Her nose picked up the aroma of fresh brewed coffee as she walked down the short hallway. Entering the kitchen, Felicia found Sebastian standing at her stove. He stood with his back turned to her.

He wore only his boxers and his hair was standing on end. Despite this, he still managed to look gorgeous. She enjoyed the view for a moment before she cleared her throat. “Good morning.”

Sebastian spun around, frying pan in hand. She had clearly startled him. Felicia stifled a giggle.

“Oh, hi! Good morning!” he said cheerfully. “I’m making breakfast. I hope you like scrambled eggs; that’s the only way I can make them.”

Felicia smiled at his eagerness. “Scrambled is fine. I see you found the coffee too.” She grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured some coffee for herself.

Sebastian set the pan back on top of the stove. “So that’s where the mugs are,” he said, coming to stand next to her. “Good morning,” he said again. He dipped his head and kissed her lightly on the nose.

Felicia smiled as she retrieved a second mug from the cabinet and poured some for Sebastian. “I don’t know how you take your coffee,” she said. “I think there’s sugar somewhere in the pantry, but I don’t know if I have any cream or milk.”

She rummaged around and did find the sugar, setting the canister on the counter next to his mug. Next, she went to the refrigerator. “Ah hah!” she said, pulling out a carton of milk.  “Hmm,” she said, as she noticed the date on the carton. She opened it and sniffed it tentatively. “Eww, nope. Never mind. Sorry, no milk.” She poured the contents of the carton down the sink, trying to remember when she had actually bought it.

Sebastian frowned. “I guess I’ll survive.” He scooped several spoons of sugar into his mug and stirred it vigorously before returning to the stove.

“Plates?” he asked. “The eggs are done.”

Felicia got two plates out of the cabinet and brought them over to the stove. “You didn’t think this through very well,” she said, holding back giggles. “What would you have done if I was still asleep?”

“I’d have improvised.” He split the eggs between the two plates, turning off the stove before returning the pan to the burner.

Felicia carried the plates over to the table along with two forks, while Sebastian brought their mugs of coffee. “So you drink your coffee black?” he asked incredulously.

Felicia sipped from her mug before answering. “Eww,” she said with a grimace. “This one is yours.” She swapped mugs and then nodded. “Yes, I got used to it. Probably because my Aunt Thel always drinks her coffee this way.”

“And your other aunt?” Sebastian asked.

“She doesn’t drink coffee.” Felicia took a bite of her eggs. “These aren’t half bad. Thanks for breakfast.”

“You’re welcome,” he answered, seeming proud of his culinary accomplishment. “I can’t cook many things, but making scrambled eggs is one thing I can do well.”

Felicia reached across the small table, catching Sebastian’s hand in hers and squeezing it lightly. “You can do a lot of things well, Sebastian.”

Sebastian blushed.  “Thank you. You can call me Seb, if you want to. Sebastian is fine too though. I just really like hearing you say my name.”

Now it was Felicia’s turn to blush. She’d certainly said his name a lot while they were in bed together.

“I don’t know if you have to work today, but filming is still on hold, so I’m free,” Sebastian said. “Just letting you know. I mean, I’d love to spend more time with you. If you want.”

“I’d love to spend more time with you too,” Felicia said.

A relieved look crossed Sebastian’s face.

“But,” she continued, “I _do_ have to go in to the diner today. In fact, I should leave soon, so I can get there and open for breakfast.”

“Oh, I understand.”

“But you’re welcome to stop by and visit, if you don’t have anything else to do. And when I’m done with work, maybe we could have dinner together?”

Sebastian’s mouth widened into a smile. “I’d love that. Dinner it is then. What should we do, go out or eat in?”

“We could always order a pizza and stay in,” she suggested.

“Who makes good pizza around here?”

Felicia listed a few chain pizza places and this time Sebastian grimaced. “No, no. Listen. You need to have some real pizza. New York style.”

“OK, and how do you suggest we manage that?”

Sebastian grinned slyly. “Do you trust me?”

Felicia narrowed her eyes. “I guess so…”

“Good. Then I’ll take care of the pizza. If you need to get to work, I’ll head back to my hotel, grab a shower and check in with the production team. I’ll stop by around lunch time, how does that sound?”

“I’m intrigued. But it sounds good.”

Sebastian rose from the table, taking their empty plates to the sink. “I hope you don’t mind if we have dinner here tonight. I’d invite you to the hotel, but there’s this woman at the front desk—”

“Christy,” Felicia interrupted. “Say no more. I understand. Let me guess, she’s been super helpful and hinting not so subtly that she’d like to spend some time showing you around town?”

“Pretty much,” Sebastian said with a laugh. He headed for the bedroom to retrieve his clothing and Felicia followed.

“I just realized, you don’t actually have my number,” Felicia mused.

“We definitely need to remedy that,” Sebastian said. He grabbed his jeans from the end of the bed where she had placed them and reached into his pocket for his phone. “Here,” he said, handing it to Felicia.

She put her number into the phone, along with her name before handing it back to him.

Sebastian smiled and a few seconds later, her phone vibrated with an incoming text. He finished dressing, watching her reaction as she read his message.

Looking up from her phone, Felicia turned to him and smiled nervously. “I can’t wait to get to know you better too. I’ll see you tonight.”

She walked him to the door and with a wink, he kissed her on the cheek. Felicia stood in the doorway, watching him saunter out to his rental car before closing the door to hurry to shower and dress so that she could leave for work.

The moment her aunts saw her walk in the door, they swarmed her, asking questions about her date the day before.  Thel and Carla both interrogated her as they prepped for breakfast and began serving the regular breakfast crowd.

“That boy was so handsome, sweetheart. Are you going to see him again?” Thelma asked.

“I am, we’re having dinner tonight,” Felicia answered truthfully.

“How did you two meet again?” Carla asked.

“He came into the diner, we just… got to talking… and he asked me out.”

“He was in the diner last week, I served him coffee and ice cream,” Carla said, remembering. “And you refused to come and make his cone. You were full of excuses that day!”

Felicia had hoped her aunt had forgotten that incident. “No, he came in again, one evening, you two had already left for the day.”

“Well, did you two have fun? You both left without finishing your lunches yesterday. I hope there wasn’t something wrong with the food,” Thelma said.

Felicia shook her head. “No, don’t worry, he loved the food. We just decided to—“

“They wanted to be alone!” Carla interrupted. “Those two only had eyes for each other. I just hope you didn’t do anything irresponsible.”

Both her aunts took the opportunity to cross their arms over their chests and look at her expectantly.

Luckily, Felicia was spared answering and any further questions when they got things started to get busy.  Business was steady all morning and by lunchtime, she was busy helping Madison in the kitchen.

She was in the middle of another trip to the cooler when Madison yelled over to her.

“Someone’s here looking for you. That dude from yesterday?”

“He’s here? Thanks, Madison,” she said, wiping her hands on her apron and looking out the order window. She spotted Sebastian sitting at the counter. Felicia pushed through the door and exited the kitchen. She walked over to where he was seated, trying not to look surprised.

“Hi! You showed up.” She offered him a half-hug across the counter.

Sebastian returned the hug as best he could, his arm tightening around her briefly. “I told you I would,” he said smiling crookedly.

“I know, I just thought maybe you’d change your mind.”

“No, I haven’t changed my mind. Listen, I was at the store, and I picked up some things for dinner. I was wondering if you would give me your keys, so I could go to your place so I could get dinner ready. I mean, if you’re OK with me being there when you’re not.”

Felicia didn’t think she had anything worth stealing, except maybe her camera and her computer, but she was sure she didn’t have to worry about Sebastian taking those. Her mind briefly flashed to the vibrator she had in her nightstand drawer, but she told herself she was being silly. Surely Sebastian wouldn’t go through her drawers.

She fished her key ring from her pocket and removed her house key. “I should be home around eight, I doubt we’ll be too busy tonight,” she said, holding out the key in her open palm.

Sebastian took the key, his fingers grazing Felicia’s palm. His eyes flashed a darker blue and Felicia knew that he felt the same tingle when they touched. “Text me when you’re on the way,” he said quietly as he stood to leave.

“I will,” she said with a nod. Felicia stood at the counter watching him leave, smiling with anticipation.

Madison watched her closely as she returned to the kitchen. He leaned back, his elbows braced on the prep counter. “So, are you dating him now?”

Felicia stopped mid-stride. “I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “Maybe? We haven’t really discussed it.”

Madison watched her before returning to the burgers he was grilling, but he let the subject drop. His question caught Felicia off guard; she and Sebastian hadn’t even discussed what they were doing together. She knew he would only be in town for a short time, so she didn’t really see how they could have a future. It saddened her to think about him leaving, so she pushed the thought aside and vowed to enjoy whatever time they had together.

Felicia texted Sebastian before she left the diner. When she got home, it was strange coming home to someone waiting for her. The house smelled amazing and as she entered her kitchen, she found Sebastian peering into the oven.

“You’re home!” he said, straightening up.

“I am,” she said. “And so are you,” Felicia teased. “How long until dinner is ready? Do I have time to take a quick shower? Or would you like me to help with something?”

“No, I’m making dinner for you, you don’t have to do anything but eat it. It should be ready in about ten minutes.”

“Great!” Felicia said, already halfway to the bathroom.

 When she returned, fresh from the shower, Sebastian was pulling a pizza from the oven.

“That looks amazing. Where did you get it?”

“You’re just in time!” he said, placing the pizza on top of the stove.

She stepped closer and Sebastian pulled her into a warm hug. A real hug, not across a counter this time. He smelled amazing, even better than the pizza. “Where did you get the pizza?” she repeated.

“I made it,” Sebastian said, his face buried in her hair.

Felicia stepped back slightly, so she could see his face. “You did?”

He smiled broadly. “I called my mom for advice on the dough, everything else was all me. Trust me; this will be the best pizza you’ve ever eaten.” He gestured with a flourish to the table, which Felicia hadn’t noticed. He had set the table with plates and a single candle stood burning in the middle of the small table. There was a wine glass next to each plate, but the liquid inside looked suspiciously like Diet Coke.

“Here, sit down.” He ushered her over to the table, pulled out her chair and made sure she was seated before placing a huge slice of pizza on each of their plates.

“I was going to buy wine, to go with the pizza,” he said, motioning to the glasses. “Unfortunately, the store here had a really sad selection of wine, so I went with something a bit untraditional.”

Felicia picked up her glass, swirling the dark liquid around. Putting the glass to her lip, she took a small sip. Her guess of Diet Coke was half-right. There was something else, something stronger too. “Rum?” she guessed.

He nodded. “I hope you don’t mind. I never asked you whether you drink or not.” He nervously toyed with the rim of his glass, watching her.

“No, I do. I mean, not a lot. But I don’t mind having a drink now and then.”

Sebastian smiled, and then took a sip from his glass. “Go ahead, try the pizza. It should be cool enough now.”

Felicia couldn’t wait to try the pizza that he’d made. She struggled to pick up the huge slice, trying a few different methods. “Alright, I give up. How do I eat this, it’s so floppy?”

“You have to fold it.”

“Fold it?”

Sebastian reached for his own slice, deftly scooped and folded his slice in one fluid motion before taking a bite. Felicia watched him, intrigued by the way his mouth worked as he chewed.

“Here, I’ll show you,” he said as he pulled her plate in front of him and picked up her slice, folding it in half lengthwise. He held it up across the table, the slice close to her lips. “See, fold it.”

She took a small bite. “Oh my god, this is so good!”

Sebastian smiled crookedly. “Thank you,” he said, setting her pizza back on her plate.

“And you said you couldn’t cook anything besides scrambled eggs.”

“That’s just breakfast. I can make a few things. Scrambled eggs, pizza. I can boil pasta.” He laughed easily and took another drink from his glass.

“You’re amazing. You’re gorgeous and can cook too. How did I get so lucky?” Felicia questioned him with a smile.

Sebastian set his glass down, locking on to her with his piercing blue eyes. “I’m the lucky one.” He paused, toying with his glass. “I meant it this morning, I’d really like to get to know you better. Will you tell me about yourself?”

Felicia hated talking about herself. “I guess it’s only fair. A lot of your life is public knowledge.”

Sebastian wrinkled his nose, frowning. “I know. It can’t be helped I guess. At least most of what’s out there is accurate. But I’d rather talk about you,” he prompted.

“What do you want to know? You already know what I do for a living,” she said, smiling.

“Well, how did you end up helping your aunts with the diner? Are they your only family? No brothers or sisters?”

Felicia shook her head. “No. Not that I know of anyway. I never met my dad, he took off when my mom was pregnant with me.”

“And your mom?” he asked.

“I barely knew her. She died in a car accident when I was five. I remember some things about her, the way she loved to read, the way she always sang along to the radio when she made me breakfast. But, when she died, my aunts took me in. They raised me.”

Sebastian reached across the table for her hand. “I’m sorry about your mom. I’d be lost without my mom. If it weren’t for her…” he cleared his throat, shaking his head.  “From what I can tell, your aunts did a wonderful job raising you. You seem to be a big help to them, with the diner.”

“I owe them a lot. I always helped out, but the older they get, the more I end up taking on and it doesn’t leave me a lot of time for anything else.”

“You mean like dating?” he asked hesitantly.

Felicia knew from the stories she had seen on the internet that he’d dated several actresses, usually co-stars, in the past. She was hoping they weren’t going to rehash his dating history. She knew she couldn’t compare to any of his ex-girlfriends. “Among other things. Besides, even if there was someone in Ridgeville that I was interested in, it’s hard to find the time.”

Sebastian nodded in agreement. “I can understand not having time to date. That’s why I ended up calling you that first time,” he reminded her.

Felicia felt herself blushing. “You know, Madison asked me this afternoon if you and I were dating now. I think people are going to get that impression, especially if you keep coming around the diner,” she said, trying to gauge Sebastian’s reaction.

“Good,” he said, his eyes lighting up.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, _good_. I want people to know I’m with you. But only if that’s something you want too. I know I’m only here for a short time, but we’ve got something special between the two of us. Of all the people I could have ended up talking to, of all the movies I could have filmed on location…”

“I’m glad I took the call that night. I’m glad you came here too,” she said feeling grateful that fate threw them together.

Sebastian smiled broadly.” You can come visit me in NY, when I go back. I can’t wait to show you around the city. Have you ever been? I think you’ll love it! And we’ll still talk on the phone.”

Felicia’s heart sank at the mention of Sebastian going back to NY. She knew she’d never have the time off or money to spend visiting him. And while she did love hearing his voice on the phone, it wasn’t going to be the same now that she’d spent time with him in person

She tried not to sigh. “Let’s just enjoy being together now, we don’t have to put labels on anything. And when you have to leave, we’ll see what happens,” she said, trying not to ruin the good mood of the evening.

Sebastian’s smile faltered but he hid his disappointment by finishing the rest of his drink.

For the rest of the meal the conversation was subdued. It was as if he knew there was something holding her back, but he didn’t want to press her to explain.

When they had finished eating, Felicia poured each of them another wine-glass full of rum and Diet Coke while Sebastian cleared the table.  Felicia protested, saying that it was only fair for her to do the dishes since he had cooked, but he insisted he would clean up.

“Would you like to come and sit in the living room with me?” she asked, when he had finished washing the dishes.

They both sat on Felicia’s loveseat, this time feeling more comfortable together than they had the day before. Felicia leaned back against the overstuffed pillows with a sigh.

“Are you tired? I can go if you need to get some sleep,” Sebastian offered.

“No, I want you to stay. It’s just been a long day.”

“Here,” he offered, pulling her legs into his lap. “I bet your legs are tired, let me help.”

Felicia was hesitant, but he had offered and a massage sounded heavenly after being on her feet all day.

Sebastian started at her ankles and rubbed each leg up to her thigh, his strong hands pressing and flexing just the right spots.

Felicia couldn’t help but moan. “God, that feels so good. Your fingers are like magic.”

Sebastian chuckled. “Thanks. It’s a little trick I learned from my trainer, it helped a lot after long days on set.” He continued working her legs, alternating between the right and left. “Your legs really are amazing. Do you run or something?”

Felicia shook her head sadly. “No, I mean I used to. I ran when I played softball, but I haven’t in, well in too long. But I’m on my feet all day every day and I’ve always had strong legs.”

Sebastian’s touch grew gentler. “I bet you look amazing in a pair of heels.” He caressed her calves, pulling her closer so that she was nearly sitting in his lap. “Remember how we talked about you… wearing heels… and nothing else.”

Felicia brought a hand across her face in embarrassment. “I don’t even own a pair of heels,” she said softly.

Sebastian cocked his head. “Oh?” he asked.

“Are you disappointed?”

“No. Well, maybe a little. But it’s okay.”

“I’ve never bought heels because I never have anywhere to wear them,” Felicia explained.

 Sebastian smiled. “Well, we’ll just have to remedy that.”

“What, that I have no heels, or nowhere to wear them?” Felicia asked.

“Both,” Sebastian replied with a sly smile.

He reached for her, cradling her face in his palm as his mouth captured hers. He groaned as she curled easily into his arms, their bodies fitting together perfectly. Felicia tasted the sweet bite of the rum on his lips. She didn’t know if it was the alcohol or Sebastian, or both, but she wanted to melt into his touch.

The black stubble that peppered his jaw rasped against her sensitive skin as he kissed along her collarbone, earning him soft gasps from Felicia’s lips. He smirked before capturing her lips with his once again, biting softly at her bottom lip. He held her against his lap, their arms wrapped around each other and simply kissed.

Felicia felt like she was back in high school, where making out for hours was one of the best times you could have on a date. The exception being that Sebastian was a better kisser than anyone she had ever kissed. As they wrapped themselves around each other in a clash of tongues, lips and breathless touches, everything seemed to fade from her mind. It didn’t matter that Sebastian would leave her. It didn’t matter that he wanted something more than just a short fling. The only thing that mattered was his kisses, and right now, she needed them like she needed air.


	11. Chapter Eleven

It was easy to take Felicia for granted; from the day they’d officially met, things had fallen easily into place. She seemed hesitant to say that they were dating, but it seemed that everyone in Ridgeville assumed they were regardless. Seb’s cast mates and the crewmembers had taken to referring to Felicia as his girlfriend. It was hard to define exactly what they had, but it was easy to treat it like a relationship. He knew their time together was limited. They spent every moment they could together, late nights and early mornings. Sometimes both of them were too tired to do anything besides lay together and fall asleep.

In an effort to try to spend more time with Felicia while he was working, Sebastian had suggested the idea of filming some scenes in Home Plate. He hadn’t mentioned it to Felicia, but the idea had taken off and he knew that Ricky had sweet-talked her aunts and they’d easily agreed to let the camera crews set up for filming.

The scene called for his character to get into a heated conversation with one of the town officials over the future of the softball program. His character’s three daughters were there also and it was their presence that kept the conversation from turning into an argument, or worse. It was a tense, emotional scene that hadn’t called for a specific location, but when Sebastian had suggested the diner as a setting, Carl had jumped at the idea.

They’d already been over the scene several times. He had to order meals for himself and the girls, and any scene with the kids was a challenge. Seb waited for the signal to restart the scene, while the cameras reset.

He had a clear view through the order window into the kitchen. He smiled, catching Felicia’s eye as she worked behind the scenes. She waved a flour-covered hand at him and then bent her head over the dough she was rolling out. She claimed she had to use up some blueberries while they were still good, so she was baking today and he tried not to let her presence distract him. It was a distraction though, and he flubbed what should have been an easy line when she reached up to get something off a shelf, her shirt riding up and showing a glimpse of her stomach.

It sounded cliché but he swore he could smell the blueberries on her skin. The oppressive heat of the still afternoon made it easy to imagine the sweet, tangy, slightly earthy smell of ripe berries clinging to her skin. It wasn’t that fake berry-scented soap; he knew she didn’t use anything like that. It was the real thing. It was so crisp, so clear that he could almost taste the fruit on his tongue. It only took a second before he wondered if her lips would taste like blueberries. He thought they must, it was clear that she had been sampling the berries while she was baking with them.

Jeez, get it together, he chided himself. This was not the time or place to be thinking about how her lips might taste. He shook his head, trying to clear the memory of how her lips had tasted their first night together when they’d shared a bowl of blueberries. He was supposed to be a professional, not a flustered, love-sick puppy. He wasn’t sure how it had happened so quickly, so intensely, but Felicia had gotten under his skin.

Somehow, they got through the scene and he escaped into the parking lot, drawing in deep breaths as the crew filed out with the equipment. Carl was the last one out the door. He clapped Sebastian on the back. “That was a great idea, that place is perfect. Good call, Sebastian.”

Seb swallowed, hoping that Carl wouldn’t comment on the way he had fumbled his lines several times. “Good, good. I’m glad,” he finally said.

Carl looked at him carefully. “Are you ready to tackle this next scene? We’re heading back over to the ballpark.” He narrowed his eyes at Sebastian. “You are ready, right? We’ve got a few more hours to shoot, but I think we could get your scenes in first so you can call it an early day… if the next scene goes more smoothly than that diner scene.”

Sebastian held back a grin at the thought of being done for the day early. “It’ll be a breeze, I promise,” he assured Carl. He found the car waiting to drive him back to the ballpark and squeezed into the backseat of the compact sedan. He fastened his seatbelt, pulled out his phone to text Felicia, and let her know that he’d be done early.

A few seconds later, she responded. He read her text and chuckled, throwing his head back against the seat.

The production assistant in the driver’s seat looked at him in the rearview mirror. “What’s so funny?” she asked.

“Felicia just said she’d show me how they have fun on a Saturday night in a small town,” he answered without thinking.

The production assistant, he thought her name was Lana, blushed. “Oh boy,” she said as she returned her eyes to the road. “I’m sorry I asked.”

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. Even with Felicia on his mind, it was much easier to get through his lines without her presence distracting him. After they wrapped up his scenes, Sebastian headed back to his hotel room. He hadn’t spent much time there lately, with all the nights he was spending in Felicia’s bed.

As he crossed the lobby, he saw a flurry of movement out of the corner of his eye. Christy came barreling towards him. “Sebastian! Hi! How are you?” she cooed. She soon caught up with him, forcing him to stop by the staircase.

“Hi Christy,” he said grudgingly. “I’m fine. How are you?”

“Oh, wonderful. I haven’t seen you around much lately. I guess you’ve been busy working.”

He nodded, trying to think of a way to excuse himself from the conversation.

“I hear you haven’t been spending many nights in your room,” Christy said. “Is there a problem?” Her tone sounded like she was genuinely worried about the state of his room, but her body language told a different story. Her clenched fists rested on her hips and her chin quivered as she looked up at him.

“The room is fine. It’s a lovely room,” he assured her. “I’ve just been spending some time with… a friend.”

Christy seemed to relax. She giggled, a shrill annoying sound. “My goodness, and here I thought you were going to say you were spending time with a girlfriend. That’s the rumor around town. Not that I listen to gossip.”

Sebastian was sure she listened to, and spread, plenty of gossip. “Well, Christy, it was really nice running into you. I’m going up to my room right now though. So, um, thank you for everything.” He spun on his heels and bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He didn’t stop until he got to his room, thankful that Christy hadn’t followed him.

He showered, taking his time. She’d told him to dress casually, so he grabbed a plain white t-shirt and camouflage shorts. He knew he had a few hours until Felicia was picking him up. He had no idea what to expect. With time to kill, he lay across his bed. He set an alarm on his phone so he would be up in time and tried to nap.

The room was too warm. It was probably his own fault; and he really hadn’t spent much time there lately, so Christy had probably turned off the air-conditioning out of spite. Between the heat and the thoughts of Felicia swirling around in his head, sleep never came. It didn’t matter, his anticipation at seeing Felicia was more than enough to make up for being tired.

She’d promised to pick him up at nine, but he had no idea what she had planned. He made sure he was outside, in front of the hotel fifteen minutes early. He didn’t want to think about what might happen if Felicia came inside asking for him. Christy’s head just might explode.

At exactly nine, Felicia pulled up in her pickup truck. He’d teased her about it many times; the truck was older than he was. He suspected she kept it for the same reason she kept working at the diner with her aunts, out of habit. She’d fallen into a routine and it was easier not to try and change things.

He sauntered over to the passenger side of the truck. The windows were both rolled down out of necessity because there was no air-conditioning. “Hey,” he said, leaning against the door. “Where are we going? If you tell me, I’ll drive.”

Felicia shook her head. “Nope, I’m driving. Hop in.”

Sebastian reached for the door handle. “Are you sure? I really don’t mind driving.” His rental car, paid for by Disney, was nothing special— just a compact sedan—but it was preferable over her truck.

“Trust me, you’ll be glad we’re taking my truck,” Felicia said. “Now get in!”

Sebastian opened the door, wincing as the hinges creaked. He shut it with a slam, another necessity, to make sure it stayed closed. The truck rattled down the road, the wind blowing tendrils of Felicia’s hair across her face.

She looked stunning, her hair was down and she was wearing a soft, cotton sundress. It was the first time he’d seen her wear a dress and he loved the way it accentuated her soft curves. He knew it must be his imagination, but she smelled delicious, wild and earthy, like the blueberries she had worked with earlier. She smelled good enough to eat, and the faint scent of blueberries, imagined or not, was enough to drive him crazy.

He was ready to ask Felicia to turn around so they could go back to her place, or even his hotel. He just wanted to kiss her, taste her, touch her, but he knew where that would lead, and it was obvious she'd put a lot of thought into their plans for tonight. So, instead, he leaned his head out the open window, drawing in deep breaths of fresh air. They drove down a road Sebastian didn’t recognize, bouncing over every pothole and bump in the road. “So we’re going somewhere you haven’t taken me before?”

“That’s right,” Felicia said, keeping her eyes on the road. “We’re almost there.”

Less than a minute later, she put on her turn signal and turned down an unpaved road. They soon came to a stop, due to a line of several cars in front of them. Up ahead Sebastian could make out some kind of booth that seemed to be stopping each car. “Alright, I’m stumped. What are we doing tonight? What is this place?”

Felicia turned to him with a grin as she inched the truck forward. “We’re going to the drive-in!”

Sebastian’s forehead wrinkled. “Drive-in? As in a drive-in movie theater? So that brochure back at the hotel was for real? I didn’t think there were any drive-ins left.”

Felicia laughed. “There are! A few of them, anyway. Like I said, this is how we have fun on Saturday nights around here. The first movie starts at nine-forty, we’re cutting it a little bit close, we probably won’t get a close spot, but it’s not like an indoor theater, every spot is still a good spot.”

As the approached the booth, Felicia muttered something under her breath that he couldn’t quite make out.

“What did you say?”

“Promise not to laugh?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“The movies that are showing tonight… ugh. You’re going to hate me. But I didn’t know! I swear.”

“What movies are they playing?”

“Thor and Captain America.”

Sebastian threw back his head with a laugh. “Are you serious?”

They pulled up to the ticket booth and the elderly man inside repeated the movie titles as Felicia passed him the money. Sebastian reached for his wallet. “I would have paid for the tickets,” he protested.

“No, it’s my treat. I told you I was going to show you how we have fun on Saturday nights. You can buy drinks and popcorn if you want to.”

They pulled through the gate and found a spot along the rows of other cars. Most cars were facing the same direction, but Felicia pulled into one of the very last rows, backing the truck up and pointing the bed of the truck towards the massive white screen.

It was just starting to get dark and people were milling around outside of their cars. The line for the concession stand wasn’t too long so Sebastian bought them a large popcorn and a Diet Coke to share. When he got back to the truck, he started to climb into the cab, but Felicia stopped him.

“Nope, this is the only way to do the drive-in. We’re sitting in the back.” She led him to the bed of the truck and he saw that she had lined it with thick blankets and pillows.

“Wow, impressive,” he smirked. Even wearing a dress, Felicia climbed into the truck with practiced ease, reaching for the popcorn and drink and holding them while Sebastian joined her. He wasn’t quite as graceful as she had been. He lost his footing and slipped head first into the pile of blankets.

Felicia hid her laughter behind her hands. He wasn’t hurt, only his ego was bruised.

She settled back against the cab, stretching her legs out and patted the spot next to her. “Come on,” she urged with a smile.

He joined her and leaned back. It was actually surprisingly comfortable. He put an arm around Felicia and she snuggled against him. Her warmth against his side was a reminder of his earlier thoughts and he groaned softly.

“You know, I’ve never actually seen Thor,” he admitted as the first movie started.

Felicia smiled. “I think you’ll like it.”

She was right, it was a good movie and as much as he wanted to kiss Felicia until they were both senseless, he found himself engrossed in the action on screen.

When the first movie ended, there was an intermission. During that time many of the other cars left, leaving them alone in the last row.

“Do you want any more popcorn?” Felicia asked. “I want to make sure we’re all settled in before the movie starts.”

Sebastian watched her carefully, trying to determine if she was teasing him. “You’re really excited to see it?” He wasn’t sure, but he thought he could see a blush creeping across her cheeks in the dim light.

“Of course! It’s one of my absolute favorites. And I’m not just saying that because you’re in it. I’ve seen it enough that I could probably recite it line for line.”

Sebastian smiled at her, pulling her close. “You’re adorable, you know that?” he asked, kissing the top of her head.

She turned her face up towards him and kissed him softly. “You’re pretty adorable yourself.”

Sebastian leaned in and kissed her, her full bottom lip begging to be sucked and bitten. He did, his teeth dragging along her lip, making her moan softly. His tongue invaded her mouth, tasting the butter and salt from the popcorn they’d shared. He wanted to be closer, feel more of her. He pressed Felicia back against the mounds of pillows, her body curving against his.

He cradled her head in his hands, letting her long hair tangle around his fingers as he held her close. He groaned as Felicia panted against his mouth, trying to catch her breath.

Her kisses were hot and passionate while his hands touched everywhere he could reach. He tried to hold back, to keep cool, he wanted to be calm and controlled, the movie star he knew she admired. But then again, he wanted her to know him. He wanted her to know just how much he wanted only her, how right it felt to be here.  
  
“I love you,” she moaned, her voice muffled and quiet against his lips.   
  
“Say that again.” 

“Sebastian. I love you,” she repeated.

He kissed her again, her words filling his ears, the world around them, the movie, and the other cars, fading away, until Felicia whispered something else.

“I’m not wearing anything under my dress.”  

It was all he needed to hear.

He needed her.  He had wanted to taste her all day. Felicia must have sensed that and felt the same. She leaned back against the pile of pillows and bit her lip. Sebastian knew it wasn’t intentionally seductive but it had that affect on him anyway.

He knelt between her legs and reached for the hem of her sundress. With one fluid movement, he pulled it off over her head and tossed it aside while pressing her back against the blankets.

"I need to taste you," was all he said before lowering himself down between her legs.

He ran his hands along her skin, caressing her legs. He didn’t think he would ever get tired of exploring Felicia’s body. His lips followed his hands up from her ankles, stopping to kiss the soft skin behind her knees. He moved slowly as he made his way upwards, letting his warm breath ghost across the sensitive skin of her inner thighs.

At the first touch of his tongue to her skin, Felicia’s hips jerked up instinctively and she cried out. Sebastian's hands slid along the curves of her hips and held her in place as he slid his tongue up her slit again.

“Jesus, Sebastian," she gasped when he circled her clit, tapping it with the tip of his tongue.

Sebastian  groaned softly, looking up at her under lowered lashes. "You taste so fucking good," he purred and in response, he could feel her shake with need the same way she had at the brush of his fingers against her skin

She whimpered and fisted her hands into the blanket when he lowered his head again and slid his tongue through her folds before pressing it inside her. He licked and sucked, working her up with long, slow strokes of his tongue and teasing flicks to her clit. By the time he slid a finger inside her and wrapped his lips around her clit, she was already on the edge.

"Seb, I'm gonna come!" she moaned.

He hummed around her clit, added a second finger, curled them… and she fell apart. Every muscle in her body seemed to tense as she shook through her orgasm, clutching at his shoulders and clenching her eyes tightly shut.

When she finally opened her eyes, Sebastian was watching her with an intense expression. He crawled up until he was hovering over her, her hazel eyes gazing up into his own.

“You're stunning when you come, Felicia. And Christ, you taste good."

She groaned and reached up to pull him down to her, as if she wanted to taste herself on him. When his tongue slid between her lips, she flicked it with her own. They kissed for a long time, until finally, he couldn't ignore his hard length pressing against her stomach.

"I want to taste you now, Seb," she breathed against his lips.

Sebastian gulped a breath, his eyes wide, and then he closed them and groaned when Felicia reached between them to stroke his cock. He pulled off his shirt, tossing it aside with her dress. After less than a minute of hesitation, Sebastian reached down and peeled his shorts and boxers off, leaving him naked in front of her.

Felicia stared at him, her eyes seeming to memorize every inch of his body, as she did every time he was naked in front of her. He let her have her fill, but his patience was nearly gone, and after stroking himself once, he guided her hand to his cock, replacing his hand with hers.

He was already slick with arousal, and when she slid her thumb across the head of his cock, he bucked against her.

"Fuck," he cursed, groaning as she squeezed him gently. “It’s not gonna suck itself.”

He had said it as a joke, trying to be funny, but the second the words had left his mouth Felicia wrapped her hands around his cock and flicked her tongue out, licking the swollen head.

The look in her eyes took his breath away and he nodded encouragingly. He bit back a groan when she parted her lips and engulfed his cock. He looked down, unable to take his eyes off the sight of his fully erect cock in her mouth.

She sucked his length, just enough to make him curse, "Fuck… Felicia."

She moaned around his cock, pressing with her tongue, earning a gasp and a long, shuddering moan from Sebastian.

With a soft pop, she released h from her mouth and he felt her tongue trace a path from base to tip, her fingers curling around him, following the path of her tongue. He closed his eyes then, but his mouth hung open as first a whimper, then a guttural moan escaped.

Sebastian's hips bucked erratically, responding to the amazing sensations ragging through his body as he enjoyed the feel of her lips and tongue. In response, she swirled her tongue around the head of his cock, moving her hands faster.

She moved even faster, groaning around him and earning more moans of pleasure from Sebastian. "Felicia…please.”

In response, Felicia sucked him back deep into her mouth, her hands caressing his thighs.

Sebastian placed his hands on her head, his fingers threading through her hair, not holding her down, just holding her.

The sensations were overwhelming. He thrust upwards, unable to hold back any longer because she looked so sexy bent over his cock, and she knew just how to pleasure him.

He felt his body tremble. Sebastian screwed his eyes shut as pleasure overcame him. He groaned as he came in her hot, wet mouth. His head fell back in satisfaction as Felicia's tongue circled around the head of his cock, taking in every drop of him. When she had licked him clean, she kissed her way up his body, pulling a blanket over both of them. She rested her head on her chest and sighed contentedly.

He pulled her close, holding Felicia’s warm body against his. Relaxing into her, he could feel his thundering heartbeat slow.Hadn’t he been the one telling Evans, just a few months ago, that it wasn’t fair to be in a relationship when he traveled so much. It didn’t matter, he wanted her with him, like this, all the time.  He hoped she felt the same.

“Felicia, I love you,” he whispered. He cleared his throat. “You know I’m leaving soon,” he said hesitantly. He felt Felicia tense in his arms. “I want you to come back to New York with me.”

Felicia lifted her head, looked him in the eyes, and then she kissed him, her mouth claiming him hungrily. He could taste himself on her. It never failed to overwhelm him, her eagerness for him, her wanting him. She hadn't answered him...but he couldn't help being distracted by her lips, kissing her back, as they lay under the stars.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Felicia knew it was Sebastian’s last night in Ridgeville. The rest of the cast and crew had all left the previous weekend. Sebastian was supposed to have gone with them, but he’d changed his flight and added an extra week to his stay. He hadn’t said it, but it was all for her. She’d managed to sneak away from the diner a lot over the week; business had slowed down now that filming was over and summer was winding down. Unfortunately, it was a Friday, and that meant a busy day. Sebastian had hung around the diner most of the afternoon, waiting for Felicia to be able to leave.

When it was finally closing time and the diner was empty, Sebastian caught Felicia by the wrist as she whizzed by, rushing through cleaning the counter and booths.

“Hey, are you almost done?” he asked. “I’ve been trying to be patient, but you know I have to leave tomorrow morning.”

Felicia stopped, frowning. “I know,” she mumbled.

They watched each other, his offer to take her back to New York with him still hanging over their heads.

Madison leaned his head through the order window. “Ahhhh, hey. Hate to interrupt your moment.” He paused, absentmindedly rubbing one of his sideburns.

Sebastian let go of Felicia’s arm and they both turned to see what Madison wanted.

“I was just going to offer to finish up here. If you want to go, Fe, I’ll stay and make sure everything’s cleaned up. I’m already coming in early to cover for you tomorrow. I might as well help you out now too.” He looked at her pointedly, ignoring Sebastian.

Felicia rushed over to the window. “Madison, you’re amazing. Thank you!” She passed him her set of keys for the diner. “Just bring them in with you tomorrow and give them to Carla, she’ll make sure I get them.”

She sprinted around the counter and Sebastian swept her up in his arms, swinging her around.  “You’re free!”  
  
“Stop!” she scolded him. Sebastian kissed her quickly before he set her back on her feet and she looked to see if Madison was still looking through the window. She no longer saw him standing there, but she heard the sound of dishes slamming into the sink.

Felicia took in Sebastian’s outfit. She’d been too busy to really notice it before. He was wearing one of his shirts from the movie, a replica of Joe’s jersey, white with burgundy piping, the name “Robbins” and the number 12 across the back. He’d paired it with a pair of black cargo shorts and his favorite black Cons. “Let’s go,” she said, pulling Sebastian out the door. “I just figured out how we’re going to spend your last night in Ridgeville.”

They both climbed into Felicia’s truck and she peeled out of the parking lot. “Where are you in such a hurry to get to?” Sebastian asked. His tone was light, but his hand clutched the edge of his seat. “Slow down, would you.”

Felicia laughed but did ease up on the gas pedal slightly. “We’re going to the softball field.”

Sebastian furrowed his brow. “Why? There’s nothing going on there tonight.”

“Exactly,” Felicia said smugly as they pulled into a parking space by the field. She shut off the engine and hopped out.

“Show me what you’ve learned. All that practice for filming. C’mon Seb,” she said. With a grin, Felicia produced a key ring from her back pocket.

“What are those for?” he asked.

“They’re the keys to the equipment shed,” she said, pointing at the small building to the left of home plate. She took off sprinting towards the shed. By the time Sebastian caught up with her she already had the door unlocked. “Here,” she said as she tossed out a worn glove.

Sebastian bent to pick up the glove and seconds later an aluminum bat rolled across the dusty ground, coming to a stop against the side of his shoes. Felicia disappeared inside the equipment shed and quickly reemerged with a bucket of neon yellow softballs.

“Are you ready?” She couldn’t help grinning, she could tell that Sebastian didn’t know what he was in for.

Sebastian looked bewildered but quickly composed himself. He drew his shoulders back and nodded. “Of course I am. Do you want to pitch or hit?”

“How about you pitch me a few to start out with,” Felicia said. She passed the bucket of balls to Sebastian and picked up the bat.

Sebastian took the bucket of balls to the pitcher’s mound while Felicia positioned herself in the batter’s box.

“Ready,” she called, watching as he picked up a ball, testing the weight in his hand. Sebastian raised his arm, ready to throw a pitch. “Underhand,” she reminded him.

She heard Sebastian muttering to himself, but he corrected his stance and let loose a straight pitch. Felicia was a little rusty, but she managed to hit most of Sebastian’s decent pitches. “How about we make things interesting,” she suggested after a few hits.

“OK, what do you have in mind?”

“Next pitch I hit, you field it. I’ll run the bases, you see if you can get me out.”

“That’s not very fair,” he complained. “How’s that going to work?”

“You just have to run faster than me,” Felicia taunted.

A smile curled across Sebastian’s lips. “What do I get if I get you out?”

“Hmm, then you get to take a turn batting,” she answered innocently.

“And if I _don’t_ get you out?”

“You still get a turn batting,” she giggled.

It was a straight pitch and a beautiful hit. She easily rounded the bases. Sebastian valiantly tried to catch the ball, but ended up chasing it across the outfield. She waited for him on home plate, smiling when he ran up, triumphantly holding the ball, a sheen of sweat covering his face.

“Your turn!” She said gleefully.

“That... was not fair,” he panted.

She gave him a minute to catch his breath and then Felicia started out by throwing him some easy pitches.

“You’re not even trying, make it challenging,” he protested.

Felicia smirked and dug her heels into the dirt mound. “Time to step up my game,” she said, letting the ball fly as she snapped back her arm

Undaunted, Seb swing the bat and missed the pitch as it sailed past him.

“C’mon,” she encouraged him. “I know you didn’t train all that time for nothing. Try again and this time _you_ can run the bases.”

Sebastian wiped his arm across his forehead before answering. “And when I get home before you can tag me out, then I get a kiss.”

“We’ll see about that,” she retorted.

Sebastian readied himself for the pitch, clearly running through the steps to a proper batting stance in his head.

“C’mon Seb, hit like a girl!” Felicia called. She threw out a perfect pitch, his bat connected with a crack, and he was off and running. Felicia was torn between watching him run and going after the ball, but her instincts kicked in and she ran, easily following the neon ball bouncing across the grass in the pre-dusk gloom.

She ran, ball in hand, trying to tag Sebastian. He was right, it was unfair. He would have been out already had she had someone to throw the ball to.

She ran straight for home, across the pitcher’s mound, just as he was rounding third. He saw how close she was and increased his speed, his legs pumping, shoes pounding the dirt.

Then Sebastian did something unexpected: he dove, head first, attempting to slide into home. Felicia pulled up, trying to slow down at the last second, but it was too late. She tripped, tumbling over Sebastian and they both rolled over home plate, the dust from the field rising in puffs. Sebastian caught her as she landed almost on top of him, rolling her over so she was on top. He kissed her then, claiming her mouth with his. They were both out of breath and the kiss ended in Felicia giggling as Sebastian panted. “Jeez, I still can’t play this game as well as a bunch of little girls.”

Felicia kissed his forehead. “You did pretty well, all things considered.”

He rose and Felicia could see that his entire backside was covered in the loose, brown dirt from the field. “You’re a mess.”

Sebastian laughed, throwing back his head. “I’m out of breath, just got schooled by a girl who then fell on top of me, and all you’re worried about is how dirty I am.”

Felicia noticed he was favoring his left knee. “Come here, sit on the bench,” she said, gesturing towards the dugout. “Let me make sure you’re not hurt.”

“I’m fine,” Sebastian assured her.

Felicia insisted, however, and he sat on the bench while she checked him over. “You’re okay?” she asked.

Sebastian nodded. “I think I just twisted my knee a little. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” He pulled Felicia towards him, his hands on her hips.

“You know, you’re covered in dirt too,” he said before pulling her close. His movements were sure, but his kiss was tentative, almost sad. Felicia knew there wouldn’t be many more opportunities to kiss him, so she reached down to curl one hand around Sebastian's hip while the other settled on his cheek, tilting his head to a better angle. Seb moaned, a low sound coming from his chest.   
  
Felicia surged into the kiss and opened her mouth against his. When Sebastian bit down gently on her bottom lip, she made a needy sound that only made him hold her tighter. She pulled away reluctantly when Sebastian ended the kiss, laying his forehead on Felicia’s shoulder.

“We really should go get cleaned up,” he said.

"I need to put the equipment back before it's too dark to find it,” Felicia said. She forced herself to leave his embrace and stood to gather all the balls back into the bucket. She returned the balls, bat and glove to the equipment shed before locking it. Sebastian waited for her at the truck, sitting on the rear bumper.

“You really looked good out there,” she said softly, placing her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry I never got the chance to come see you.”

“You’ll get to see the movie,” he said, looking up with a crooked grin. “I’m sorry I can’t stay here longer. Stay with _you_ longer.”

Felicia bit her lip, but didn’t say anything. “Let’s go, we’re both a mess. We’d better go and hit the showers.”

They held hands during the ride back to Felicia’s trailer. Sebastian’s fingers fit perfectly with hers. He sat as close to her as he could, his left arm thrown around her shoulder while his right hand grasped hers.

Inside the trailer, it was even more obvious just how dirty they’d both gotten. Felicia looked at Sebastian, practically covered in dust from the waist down. “So, shower?” she asked, tilting her head coyly.

With a growl, Sebastian pulled her close, kissing her hard. Their clothes flung to the floor in a tangle of hands and zippers and soon they were both naked, in the bathroom.

Felicia turned the water on, letting it warm up before stepping into the tub. She kept her eyes locked on Sebastian’s while she stepped under the spray, letting the warm water soak her hair and rush down her body.

Sebastian wasted no time joining her, pulling the curtain shut behind them. He pushed her hair back from her neck, and began kissing her exposed skin. His lips sucked and nipped with no real rhythm, just tasting his way across her skin. He brought his hands to Felicia’s waist, gripping her tightly.

She could feel his arousal pressed between them. His lips never left her skin as his hands reached for her breasts, his fingers splaying out across her nipples.

Felicia threaded her fingers through Sebastian’s hair imploringly. His right hand dipped between her thighs, easing a finger between her folds, tracing a warm, wet path.  
  
Felicia ran a hand down through Sebastian's hair, down along his spine, down to his ass. She gave it a sharp slap before she reached between their bodies, lightly squeezing his hard cock. Sebastian pressed his finger farther in, adding a second, slowly curling and uncurling them.   
  
They hadn’t bothered with soap, but the water had washed away most of the dust from the field. Felicia’s back was pressed against the wall of the shower and she tipped her head back in frustration. She tried to form words, but all she knew was that she wanted Sebastian. She wanted him inside of her. Felicia bucked against his teasing fingers. She tried to pull him closer, her hand curled around his slick cock, coaxing him towards her.

“Seb,” she finally moaned. “I need you. Now.”

This earned a shuddering groan from Sebastian, who reluctantly stopped kissing her neck. He slowly drew his fingers from her and brought them to his lips. With his eyes fixed on hers, he smirked before slipping his fingers into his mouth and sucking them, then pulled them from his lips with a pop.

Felicia clutched at Sebastian, whimpering softly. “Please.”

Sebastian shook his head. “No,” he said reaching to turn off the water. “Not here. In the bed. I want to do this properly.”

With a wicked gleam in his eye, Sebastian chased Felicia to the bedroom. She was breathless with laughter, passion, and wanting him. He growled softly and grabbed her by the hips, guiding her to the bed.

Heedless of the mess their wet bodies were making, he practically pounced on top of her, his hands gliding over her wet skin. Sebastian dipped his head, letting his tongue trail down her collarbone, across the valley of her breasts. Felicia's loud gasp quickly turned into a low moan as she felt his lips curl around her nipples, suckling one, then the other.

Her hands fluttered across his back, grasping for purchase on his back. The room was warm; as quickly as the water from the shower was drying, the heat made them both break out in a sweat. It was hard for Felicia to tell where Sebastian ended and she began.

"Please," she urged him again, trying desperately to draw him closer. The head of his hard cock teased her, pressing against her thighs, nudging the soft curls between her legs as he moved over her.

With sudden intent, Sebastian reached for her hips once more, flipping her over onto her belly. Even when Sebastian was excited, he never groped. Every movement was precise and deliberate, even when he was nearly out of his mind with desire.  Kneeling over her legs, he ran his hands across her back and down over her ass, cupping it in his hands. He parted her legs and trailed one finger down, following the slick path of heat.

Slowly, Felicia raised herself up on her knees, swaying her hips. She looked back over her shoulder to see Sebastian licking his lips. He braced one hand on her lower back and used his other hand to guide his cock. Slowly, torturously, he slid into her, inch by inch.

Felicia tried to move her hips back, wanting to feel all of him, wanting him to be buried inside her. But he held her in place and continued at the pace he had set.

Felicia looked back at him over her shoulder, her eyes dark with lust. She arched her hips impatiently.  
  
Sebastian seemed to lose himself in the moment. He drew back, his hands still on her hips, until he was nearly separated from her and then, almost too roughly, he sheathed himself in her in one precise stroke. Beneath him, Felicia threw her head back, her cry echoing. “Don’t stop!”  
  
Sebastian leaned over her, bringing his right hand down atop hers so their fingers entwined, his mouth inches from the back of her neck.  
  
"I'm yours,” Felicia murmured, so he could hear the smile in her voice, "and you’re mine. Now show me."  
  
"Mine," he repeated, pulling back just enough to thrust sharply back in so he could hear her gasp. "Mine." No other word was necessary. Felicia knew she was his. He buried his face in the curve of her shoulder.

She took a deep breath and concentrated on his movements, feeling every slow stroke more than the last.  Her whole body was tingling and when his hands moved across her back, Felicia felt the tiny explosions starting to build. Sebastian sensed it, his breath coming in ragged gasps in time with his thrusts. They moved together towards ecstasy.   
  
“I love you, Felicia, I love you, I love you.”   
  
“Sebastian...”   
  
They came together, both spiraling towards their climax at the same moment. Sebastian held her tightly, and they both dropped to the bed. She loved the weight of him on top of her, the feel of his cock still deep inside of her. Ending the day in his arms was as close to perfection as she would probably ever get.   
  
Eventually he moved, but Sebastian still held her close, sighing, as Felicia relaxed into his arms. There were parts of her that worried it would all crumble when he left; surely he felt the same way. She just tried to concentrate on the feeling of his arms around her, holding on tightly as if he didn’t intend to let go. 

*  * * * * * * * * * *

They woke late. Sebastian bolted up in a panic. “I’ll miss my flight!” he said, trying to find his clothing. Felicia rubbed her eyes and remembered that neither of them had undressed in the bedroom. The clock showed that they had no time to shower or do much of anything besides throw on clothing and run out the door if Sebastian were to make his flight.

As Felicia drove him to the airport Sebastian was unusually quiet. When they arrived and he was waiting in line to go through security to be able to board his flight, it finally felt real that he was leaving.

The Fort Wayne airport wasn’t a huge airport, but it was big enough. Once Sebastian walked through the gate and boarded his plane Felicia had no idea when she would see him next.

“You’re sure you can’t come with me?” Sebastian asked.

“I have responsibilities here,” Felicia answered.

“Except that I want you to be with me,” Sebastian said. He made a small noise that sounded suspiciously like a sniffle.  “And I have to go back to New York.”

Felicia bowed her head, not wanting to look him in the eyes.

 “I’m not leaving for good, you know.” He finally said, pressing his forehead to hers. “We can figure something out. I’ll come visit you, even if you can’t get away. As long as you don’t forget about me,” he said with a half smile.

Felicia quickly shook her head, “I could never forget you, Seb. I’ll always want you.”

“And I couldn’t forget you. But I wish you’d change your mind and come with me.” Sebastian smiled, but Felicia could see it was forced. “We can still talk on the phone, all the time, right? And I’ll come visit you if I can.” He smiled softly. “When I can,” he said before throwing his arms around Felicia.

Felicia could feel his shoulders shaking, as if he was trying not to cry. “It’s ok, Sebastian,” she whispered. “We’ll figure this out.” She was trying not to cry herself.

“I have to go,” Sebastian whispered back.

Felicia sniffled back the tears that were threatening to fall. “Just don’t…don’t replace me, ok? Don’t forget about me with all the models and actresses.”

Sebastian’s hold tightened. “Not possible.  No one could replace you.”

They held each other for another long moment. Felicia knew they didn’t have much time before Sebastian would have to go or risk missing his flight.

“I love you, Felicia.”

“I love you too, Seb,” she said, laying a soft kiss on his forehead.

The airport was packed and noisy and smelled faintly of cleaning products but it didn’t matter, because Sebastian was kissing her and that was enough. It wasn’t a goodbye. It was a “to be continued.” Felicia didn’t know what it was, but his lips were on hers so she kissed him back, putting all of her hopes and fears into the kiss. 

He had to go and their time together was over. Sebastian gave her one more quick hug. “Bye, Felicia.”

“Goodbye, Seb,” she managed to squeeze out.

As he walked through the security line, Felicia kept herself angled so he could see him. She didn’t move, she stood rooted to her spot, watching and waving until Sebastian was completely out of sight.

It wasn’t until he was out of sight that the tears started to fall.

Felicia turned to leave, trying to hide them from the milling crowds around her. Her blurred vision caused her to bump into a man standing nearby, a man curiously holding no luggage, just something small and dark in one of his hands. She felt bad for knocking into him so hard and apologized profusely before swiping at her eyes and fleeing the airport for the safety of her truck so she could cry in peace.

Unbeknownst to Felicia, the man continued to watch her as she exited the airport. If she'd known, she might not have apologized so much for something so simple... especially if she'd spied him earlier, using that small, dark object - his camera - to take pictures of her and Sebastian as they kissed each other goodbye.

Both of them were so caught up in the moment, Sebastian leaving, Felicia staying behind, that either one of them noticed the photographer snapping pictures of them as they were saying goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone that's been coming back and reading every week! You guys have no idea how much I appreciate it! And thanks to everyone that takes the time to leave comments <3
> 
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> You can find me on Tumblr at [lovealetterbomb](http://lovealetterbomb.tumblr.com/)


	13. Chapter Thirteen

The drive back to Ridgeville was hard. Felicia was alone. It was really over. Sebastian was gone. She knew from the moment she had met him that it was only temporary. Of course he couldn’t stay. And she couldn’t go.

She stopped at home to change before heading to the diner.  It gave her time to splash cold water on her face. It didn’t change the fact that her eyes were swollen from crying, but for now, it stemmed the flow of fresh tears.

In the rush to get Sebastian on his flight on time neither one of them remembered his nervousness on flights. She hoped he wouldn’t be too nervous.

Felicia found herself tracing the outline of her phone through her pocket, the weight of it a reassurance that he would call once he landed.

“Hey, Fe? You okay over there?” Madison called from the opposite side of the kitchen.

“Huh? What?”

“You’ve been standing there staring into space for like five minutes,” he said with a chuckle. “You forget who ordered it?”

Felicia picked up the plate, thankful it wasn’t hot food that had been sitting around getting cold. “Sorry, Madison,” she apologized. “I guess I’m just a little preoccupied.”  As she went through the swinging door, she was sure she heard Madison muttering quietly.

When her phone finally rang, Felicia pulled it out of her pocket, making sure it was Sebastian before she answered.

A smile crept across her face. She excused herself, stepping outside to take the call.

“Hello,” she answered as she leaned back against the side of the diner.

“I just landed.” Sebastian’s voice was faint through the phone.

“How was the flight?”

“It was fine. I tried to sleep but I couldn’t.” He sighed. “I miss you already.”

“I miss you too,” she answered, trying to keep the tears out of her voice.

“Wait, what I just said was a lie. I should have said that I started missing you the minute I left. This sucks.”

“Hey, it’s only been a few hours,” she said, trying to reassure herself as much as him.

“Right. I know. I just wanted to check in with you. I’ve got a lot of crap to take care of after being gone so long. Will you call me later?”

“Of course! I’ll be here late tonight. I want to let Madison go early, as a thank you for letting me leave early last night.”

“Just call me when you can,” he said. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said, not wanting to hang up. Silence filled the air for a few seconds until the connection was broken and the call ended.

The rest of the day dragged on. It was a Saturday so at least Felicia was busy enough to be somewhat distracted. By the end of the day, all she wanted to do was go home and call Sebastian. She sent Madison home as soon as she could and when the last customer was out the door she flew through the nightly cleaning as fast as she could manage.

She didn’t want to wait until she was home even if it was only a ten minute drive. Felicia started her truck and dialed Sebastian’s number, listening to the line ring as she drove towards home.

“Felicia.” His voice sounded so good. “Are you home already?”

“Not quite. I couldn’t wait any longer to call you.”

“I couldn’t wait to talk to you either. You were on my mind all day. In fact, I did a little shopping today while I was running around town.”

“Oh, what did you buy?”

“Something special. Something for you.” His voice was full of excitement and mischief.

“You didn’t have to buy me anything,” she protested.

“I didn’t do it because I had to. I did it because I _wanted_ to.”

“So… what is it?”

“I’m not telling! It’s a surprise. You’ll have to wait until the package comes.”

“But I hate surprises!” she said, letting herself into her trailer.

“Too bad!” he teased. “You’ll have to wait. But I want you to call me before you open it.”

Felicia knew she’d just have to wait until her surprise arrived. She had no idea what Sebastian might have sent her.

“I just remembered,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “I have _another_ surprise for you.”

“Now you’re just teasing me,” she said. “How long do I have to wait to find out what this one is?”

“No waiting. I ran into a friend of mine today that runs a gallery.”

He sounded proud of himself but Felicia had no idea why. “And?”

“And I was telling him about your photos. The ones you have up in the diner. He’s really interested in them and he’s sure that he could sell some prints of your work.”

Felicia didn’t know what to say. They were in unspoken agreement that she wouldn’t take calls on Connections anymore. It would be too weird. Too much like cheating. She hadn’t told Sebastian, but that would make things really tight if she wasn’t bringing in the extra money. She was touched that he had tried to find a solution.

“Wow, really? You’re serious?”

“Absolutely! I told him you could send him the high resolution files,” he said giving her his friend’s email address.

“Sebastian, that’s amazing. I _never_ thought anyone would want to pay for my photographs.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. I told you they were amazing.”

Felicia smiled at his words of praise. “It’s going to be hard going to bed without you tonight,” she said. The longer they talked the more she wished he were there with her.

“I know,” he agreed. “It’s weird being back in my own apartment. I was really hoping you’d be coming back with me.”

Felicia sighed. She wanted to be with Sebastian but it wasn’t possible. They both knew it. “Maybe someday,” she offered.

“I’d like that,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t want to say goodnight, but I’ve got an early morning tomorrow… but I’m calling you tomorrow evening, I promise.”

“I’m already looking forward to it. I miss you,” she said.

“I love you, Felicia.”

“I love you too, Sebastian.” She hung up the phone and lay across the bed. She knew she needed to change and shower before she went to bed but all she wanted to do was clutch her pillow. It smelled like Sebastian, the soft scents of rain and cedar that clung to him all the time. She wished she were holding him instead of the pillow. There was an empty feeling deep inside her chest. She looked to the other side of the bed, to the space filled only by rumpled sheets, and sighed.

* * *

Felicia spent the next day anticipating his call. She missed Sebastian more than she realized she would. She didn’t know what time he would be calling her, but when it began to get later and she still hadn’t heard from him she started to worry. She put one of his movies into the DVD player, hoping the sight of him on screen would cheer her up. It did, until he began kissing his gorgeous costar, which only served as a reminder that in his world most relationships were over in the blink of an eye. She knew she was being irrational but she couldn’t help but feel insecure. Maybe now that he was back in New York he had decided that he didn’t really want to continue their relationship. Maybe he was going to call her only to break up with her. Maybe he wasn’t going to call her at all.

When her phone did ring, showing Sebastian’s name across her screen, she hesitated to answer it. It was almost midnight and she should have already gone to bed. She couldn’t ignore him, so she answered despite the sick feeling in her stomach

 “Sebastian?” There was a distinct question mark at the end of his name. Felicia knew it was him; she just didn’t know what she’d hear from him when he answered her.

“Felicia.” Felicia sighed at the sound of her name. She would never get over hearing him say it.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to call me tonight,” she said timidly. “I was getting ready to go to sleep.”

Sebastian laughed. “No, I said I would call and I meant it. I just got forced to go to a dinner with some studio execs and it turned into going out for drinks after dinner. Everyone was sitting around and talking about my contract and praising my work on the movie we just wrapped and all I wanted to do was come home and talk to you.”

“Oh,” she said softly. “I’m glad I waited up then.”

“I’m glad you waited up too. I have to tell you though, I’ve had a little too much to drink and all I can think about is being there in bed beside you. I miss you so fucking much.”

Felicia felt her whole body flush and the light sheet covering her suddenly seemed much too hot. She kicked it off but it didn’t seem to help. “I miss you too.”

There was silence on both ends before Sebastian spoke up. “What I wouldn’t give to hear you moan, Felicia. Would you like me to make you moan?” It wasn’t a moan, but a breathy rush of air that escaped her lips, full of lust at his words.

"Felicia?"

“Yes?"

"I want you to touch yourself,” he said in a firm voice.

She slid her hand into her panties, wishing he were there instead, but feeling an ache that refused to be ignored. “I am."

He made a soft, strangled sound in response. “I wish I could watch you. Touch you."

"Sebastian—"

"Don’t just touch yourself. I want you to get that vibrator out of your drawer.”

She hesitated. How did he know about her vibrator? “What… how—“

“Do it. I’m not there to touch you, but I want you to touch yourself, to use it on yourself,” he said gruffly.

She wished she could see how he looked. She imagined him, picturing his dilated eyes and the way he bit his lip. “Are you hard for me?” she asked, slipping into the familiar routine of their calls before they had met.

“I'm giving the orders here, Felicia, not you. Now get that vibrator and turn it on," he growled.

So this is what he needed to play tonight. He was going to be dominant, sexy Sebastian and she was going to be submissive.  "Okay, Sebastian.”

 "Good girl."

She reached into the drawer, pulled a slim, purple vibrator with a control at the bottom, and switched it on. Without taking her panties off she ran it lightly across the thin cotton, enjoying the vibrations.

Her eyes drifted closed and she didn’t bother to hold back her moans. Her entire body was tingling with anticipation and she wanted to let him know it.

“What are you wearing?” he asked, sounding breathless. “I want you naked, just like me.”

Reluctantly she set the vibrator aside and peeled her underwear down and off her legs. “I’m not wearing anything now,” she told him.

"God, Felicia. I wish I could see you," he told her.

She picked up the vibrator again and began to rub it along her slit, slicking it with her wetness. Her clit was so sensitive she knew it wouldn't take long for her to come. She continued to stroke herself, her hips rocking against the vibrations. 

“What would it take, Felicia? Could you hold out until I slid my cock deep inside of you?” He groaned and she knew he was touching himself.

Wet heat pooled between her legs, and her nipples pebbled against the thin t-shirt she had worn to bed. She bit her lip, wanting to hear what he would say next.

 The thought of what he would say next was driving her mad.

“Do you know what I’d do if I were there with you?”

Felicia shook her head no before she remembered that he couldn’t see her. “Tell me,” she said in a quiet voice.

 “I think I’d let you touch yourself, let you use that vibrator while I watched, Felicia. I’d stroke my cock and watch you, slick and wet, waiting for me. Are you wet Felicia?” Her hips arched off the bed at his words. There was a husky quality coming through in his voice, a raw edge. It resonated in her ears, flowing through her body… he really wanted her. 

“Put one hand on your breast, the other between your legs, and tell me how wet you are, Felicia.”

She slipped her hand between her legs, spreading her legs and just barely grazing her clit. “I’m so wet,” Felicia gasped out as she let her fingers rub across her clit again.

“Fuck, I want to taste you, Felicia. I want to pin you to the bed and taste you. I know it drives you crazy when I use my tongue on you.” Her fingers worked the vibrator in time with his words and she knew from the sounds she was hearing that he was working himself at the same pace. She quivered with her pent up release, it would be so easy to put herself over the edge, but she didn’t want to come before Sebastian told her she could.

“You taste so fucking good Felicia.” She shivered at his words, writhing on the bed. “But what I really want to do is fuck you. Do you want that? Do you Felicia?” His voice was ragged and his breathing was as out of control as hers.

She held the vibrator poised above her writhing hips. “I do. I want you to fuck me. Please fuck me now,” Felicia begged into the phone, burying the vibrator between her legs when she heard Sebastian groan loudly.

“Felicia, god I love you. Come for me… come _with_ me,” he ordered.

His words were all it took to send her over the edge and even though they were hundreds of miles apart, for that moment, it was almost as if they were together.

 

The next morning Felicia felt like her usual cup of coffee wasn’t enough to keep her awake. The lack of sleep had been worth it though. After last night, after the way Sebastian still wanted her even though they were apart, she felt as though she didn’t have to worry about him ending things anymore. She was contemplating having a third cup; the morning rush was dying down and she knew she’d need something to keep here awake in the lull between breakfast and lunch. Her phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket, surprised to see Sebastian was calling her.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Is it a good morning? You’re not hung-over, are you?”

Sebastian chuckled. “No, not hangover thankfully. And yes, before you ask, I do remember everything from last night.”

“I’m glad to hear that. It was definitely worth waiting up late.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

“So, what are you up to this morning? Do you have another busy day ahead of you?”

“Ah, well I have an interview this afternoon. One of those entertainment news segments,”  he said tentatively.

“That sounds fun. What are you going to talk about?”

“Well… that’s actually why I called you.”

“I don’t understand, what do you mean?”

“I guess someone took pictures of us at the airport the other day; they’re all over the tabloids. That’ll be the first thing they ask about. You know how it is.”

“No. Actually I don’t. Not a celebrity, remember?”

 “No, I know! Sorry. But I wanted to let you know. I don’t think anyone could even tell it’s you; they’re not great pictures. But people know it’s definitely me and a ‘mystery woman.’ I just wasn’t sure what you wanted me to say.”

“What do you mean, what I want you to say?”

“You know I love you, I’d love to tell the whole world about you. I just didn’t know if you were ready for our relationship to be, well, quite so public.”

She hesitated. She loved Sebastian, she really did. But she wasn’t a part of that world. And she wasn’t sure she was ready to be.

 “I’ll assume your hesitation means you’re not comfortable with this. Don’t worry. I won’t mention your name. I’ll respect your privacy.”

“Seb…”

“No, it doesn’t matter. Right? I know how you feel about me and that’s all that matters.”

“I love you,” she said.

“I love you too. I’d better go, I don’t want to be late. I’ll talk to you later, OK?”

When the connection was severed, Felicia felt nervous. She tried to shake it off. She was probably being  irrational again. It wasn’t like she was in New York, or LA. Even if Sebastian did talk about her, what were the chances of anyone actually bothering her? What if she’d screwed things up with Sebastian by sounding like she didn’t want to admit they were dating? She hoped he knew it wasn’t him, she just wasn’t ready to go public as his girlfriend.

* * * * * * * * * *

Sebastian tried to settle into the uncomfortable chair. He fidgeted, crossing and uncrossing his legs. They’d already discussed the movie he’d just finished filming in Ridgeville, his training routine in the gym and what upcoming projects he had. He knew what was coming next.

The reporter sat across from him with a tight smile pasted across her face. "So, Sebastian we hear you've been seen with--"

"No comment," he quickly interrupted. No need to let her finish. Everyone knew he'd been photographed with a mystery woman.

The reporter wouldn't give up. "So you won't tell us about the woman you were photographed kissing in an Indiana airport last weekend?"

Sebastian frowned. "No, it's a private relationship and--"

This time the reporter cut him off. "So you're in a relationship with this woman?"

Damn it. He hadn't chosen his words carefully enough. He tried again. "No comment?"

 “Now Sebastian, America is wondering who this mystery woman is. Who is she to you?”

He grimaced, then tried to smile convincingly. He’d really put his foot in his mouth. “Uhh… umm…” he searched for something to say that wouldn’t make things worse.

The reporter, leaned towards him and smiled too sweetly, placing her hand on his knee. “Oh, come on now,” she said conspiratorially, “you can tell me.”

Sebastian took a deep breath. “She’s a very special person; someone I wish was here with me now.” He smiled, thinking of Felicia and genuinely wishing she were there with him now. “That’s all I’m really comfortable saying right now.”

The reporter turned towards the camera and smiled. “You heard it here first folks! Sebastian Stan has a special lady, but he isn’t giving any details!”

“And we’re out,” came a voice from behind the camera.

Sebastian’s shoulders slumped with relief. He hoped he hadn’t made too big of a mess of things. At least he hadn’t mentioned Felicia by name. He unclipped his mic and headed for the exit as quickly as he could. He didn’t want to stick around and have to dodge any more questions.

Sebastian ducked into a Starbucks, ordering a drink and sitting at a table in the corner. He knew Felicia would see the interview sooner or later. He may as well tell her about what he'd said. He pulled out his phone and sent her a quick text apologizing for how the interview had gone.

She didn't respond right away. He held his phone, waiting to see her reaction. He jiggled his leg impatiently. He sipped his drink, keeping his eyes fixed intently on the screen.

* * * * * * * * * *

Felicia sighed, choosing her words carefully before she texted Sebastian back.

Finally she typed: I’m not upset. What you said was fine. It’s not like you gave out my name and address.

His response, though brief, showed his relief that she wasn’t mad at him. Felicia smiled. She should have known that he’d end up doing something like this. Honestly, he was horrible at interviews and always seemed to be at a loss for words. She’d watched enough of his interviews to know that was his M.O. Now that he’d basically told America he was in a relationship she hoped that it would be the end of the subject. The photos that made it into the tabloids were innocent enough, just two people sharing an emotional farewell in an airport. As long as photographers didn’t show up at the diner or her door she wasn’t terribly worried.

* * * * * * * * * *

She forgot all about the interview and even the photographs until nearly a week later. She tuned the radio in the diner to a syndicated radio show, knowing that Sebastian was doing an interview.

She listened between taking orders and delivering food to tables and missed most of the first half of the interview. Most of the breakfast crowd had left before she finally had a free moment to just stand and listen.

“She’s amazing,” she heard Sebastian say.

“Your mystery girlfriend?” the DJ asked.

“Yeah. My girlfriend. I guess she is my girlfriend. I met her while I was filming, in Indiana.” Felicia hid a smile behind her hand, it wasn’t a total lie.

“So she didn’t come back to NY with you?”

“No, she’s a busy woman. But we’re doing the long distance thing, making it work, you know?” Sebastian’s voice was so filled with love she felt her heart swell.

“Man,” the DJ said, “you’re so secretive. You never talk much about her. I’ve never even seen  a good picture of her. Did we miss you posting one on Instagram?”

Sebastian filled the silence with a series of “um’s” and “ahh’s” before telling the DJ, “I can post one now. Hold on.”

The DJ laughed, clearly pleased he had goaded Sebastian into sharing something private on social media. Felicia wondered what he could be going to share.

“There we go,” Sebastian said.

Feeling nervous, Felicia willed her hand not to shake as she pulled out her phone. She quickly checked Sebastian’s Instagram account. The most recent picture showed her on the field, walking towards the equipment shed. You couldn’t really see her face, just the back of her head. Her hair was a mess and he had tagged it _#hitlikeagirl #softballsweetheart_. She had no idea he had even taken her picture that night, the last night they spent together.  The rest of Seb’s interview faded out as she watched the fan comments on his picture start appearing. Mostly they insulted her. Some talked about how she wasn’t really his girlfriend, just a friend. Others expressed their abject sadness over their relationship and talked about how depressing it was for them.

Thankfully it was a slow morning. She closed Instagram and shook her head, deciding then and there that she would never, ever look at the comments on anything Sebastian posted again. By then the interview was over and the DJ had moved onto a different subject. She flipped off the station, finding something with soft music that could be easily tuned out.

She decided to call Sebastian even though they had just spoken the night before. It was becoming something of a habit for them to call each other often. Or send one another texts throughout the day.

She hoped she wasn’t interrupting him during another interview or a meeting or audition or something equally important. The line rang once, twice, three times and then he picked up.

“Hey! Did you hear my interview?

“I did. I saw the picture you posted too.”

“I hope you don’t mind. I figured it was pretty anonymous. I can take it down if you want me too.”

“No, it’s alright. I was just surprised. I had no idea you even took that picture.”

“It’s one I look at often. Especially when I’m thinking of you. In fact, I was just thinking about you.”

“Oh really,” Felicia answered. She was already smiling; she always did when they talked. “Why were you thinking about me? What about me specifically?”

“I always think about you,” he answered. “Always.”

He continued. “Sometimes naked.” He paused. “ Sometimes not.”

Felicia felt herself blushing. “You’re incorrigible! You know I’m at work right now. Where are you?” She lowered her voice. “Please don’t tell me you’re at home… in bed.”

Sebastian guffawed, a full, rich sound, and she pictured him with his head thrown back in laughter. “No. I’m at Starbucks,” he answered when he had finally calmed down. “But now I really wish I _were_ at home… with you in my bed.”

“You’re such a tease,” Felicia said with a wistful sigh.

“In fact,” Sebastian said,” I think I’m going to head home right now.”

Felicia was about to tell him how horribly unfair he was being, when she heard the background noise become noticeably louder from Sebastian’s end of the line.

“What the hell,” he said, sounding agitated.

“Seb, what’s going on?”

“What’s going on is I just walked out of Starbucks and there’s paparazzi all over the sidewalk shoving cameras in my face.”

“What? Why?” Felicia was confused. From what Sebastian had told her, he really wasn’t one of those celebrities who the photographers chased and hounded.

He didn’t answer, but she heard him raising his voice amidst the clamor. “No comment. I don’t know where you’re getting your information but it’s not true.”

Becoming more concerned, she asked again. “Sebastian, what’s going on?”

There was a sound of a car door slamming and she heard Sebastian giving an address to, presumably, a cab driver.

“I don’t know. All they kept asking me was whether ‘it was true’ and they kept asking about me about being a ‘bad boy’ and how it would impact my contract.” She heard him sigh heavily.

“What on earth could they be talking about?” she wondered aloud.

“I don’t know. But I bet it’s some stupid shit plastered all over the tabloids. Listen, I’ve got another call coming in, I need to take this. I’ll call you later.”

“I love you,” she said, but he had already hung up.

Something was going on. Something that had Sebastian on edge. Felicia checked the clock. She had at least an hour before people started showing up for lunch. There were only two customers in the diner at the moment, both sipping coffee. Her aunts would be fine if she left briefly.

Felicia grabbed her phone and scrambled towards the door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she called to her aunts, tossing the words over her shoulder as the door closed behind her.

Her hands were shaking as she unlocked her door and got into her truck. She squinted in the bright midmorning sun as she sat in her truck in the corner of the parking lot. She did a quick search for the things Sebastian said the paparazzi were shouting at him along with his name. She scrolled through the results that appeared. Several were links to fan blogs, some were gossip sites, but they all seemed to say the same thing.

She touched a link, choosing a popular gossip site that she usually avoided. The people who ran the site were pretty sleazy but they always seemed to have the latest news first. Waiting as the page loaded, she didn’t know she was holding her breath until she released a sharp whoosh of air.   There in a bright yellow headline were the words “ **Bad Boy**! Sebastian Stan made calls to a kinky sex chat line – _Details below_ ”.

Fingers shaking, she swiped her screen…


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Felicia couldn’t believe what she was seeing. There in black and white were details of Sebastian’s calls to Connections, the times he had called, how much money he had spent. The only detail they didn’t know was who he had talked to. _Her name_.

She’d read the story on the gossip site in the parking lot, feeling sick to her stomach. It was quickly spreading all over the internet but she only needed to read it once. The words were burned into her memory. She had somehow managed to pull herself together and go back in to work. She’d tried calling Sebastian several times but it always went to voicemail. She’d sent him a frantic text when she first saw the story then several more when she had managed to calm down.

Whoever had written the article had found out about Sebastian’s calls to Connections. She didn’t know who or how or why, but they knew all the sordid details.

Except for one, her name. The article stated that they hadn’t yet uncovered which girl or girls he had spoken to, but it implied that they were trying to find out. But why? She didn’t understand was why had someone gone to the trouble to dig into Sebastian’s personal life so deeply that they uncovered this?

She kept a smile pasted on her face and finished out the day. She was nervous, jittery, and worried about Sebastian. Felicia couldn’t shake the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Somehow, back when she and Sebastian had begun their relationship or whatever it was that they had, she had never imagined this one possible outcome.

Her phone vibrated as she walked in her front door, signaling that she had a text. She held her breath, hoping it was finally Sebastian texting her back.

                                            His message read: _Are you home? I need to talk to you._

She dialed his number, hoping he would actually answer.

“Felicia?” he answered, sounding tired.

“Sebastian, what the hell is going on? I saw the tabloids and I don’t understand…”

Sebastian sighed. “I don’t even know. I’ve been trying to do damage control all day, I’ve been in meetings, conference calls. My agent has been on my ass, my manager, the studio… It’s been a shit storm.”

“I’m sorry, that sounds awful. But why, that’s what I don’t understand? Why would someone do this to you?”

“I don’t fucking know,” he said tersely. “Why do those assholes do anything? Someone took those pictures of us in the airport and it opened up a can of worms. It wasn’t enough this time to have pictures of me and my girlfriend. Maybe I should have been more open, spilled all the juicy details on our relationship,” he said sarcastically.

“Why would that matter?”

“I don’t know, maybe it wouldn’t have. But maybe if they had that to write shit about then they wouldn’t have gone digging around and found this.”

“How do you think they found out?” she asked.

“Best guess? Someone went through my _trash_ and found my phone bill.”

“That’s insane.”

“Tell me about it. I just wanted to make sure you knew what was going on. I’m going to be busy trying to do damage control over this. I don’t know how they’ll want to spin it, or if they even can.”

“Alright,” Felicia answered. “Do you want to talk about it or just talk?” She missed him; she wished she could be there to give him a shoulder to lean on through all of this.

“No. I’ve talked it to death already today. My head is pounding and I just want to sleep for a week.”

“Oh… okay,” Felicia said sadly. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”

“Maybe, if I can get a minute to myself. I love you Felicia.”

“I love you too,” she answered as the line went dead.

Felicia knew it couldn’t be easy for Sebastian but she couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before someone made the connection between his mystery girlfriend and her. Or worse, between her and the phone sex line. Ridgeville was small enough that nearly everyone in town had seen her with Sebastian at some point. And if photographers or reporters showed up here it wouldn’t be hard to find her.

She tossed and turned that night, missing Sebastian more than ever. The next day, she hoped to hear from him, even if it was just a quick text, but her phone stayed silent all day. The longer she went without hearing from him the more uneasy she felt. She sent him a few texts, left him a voicemail, but she didn’t want to annoy him. After the first few unanswered messages she decided it would be better to wait until he contacted her.

Almost a week later, a new headline showed up. “What does SebStan’s Mystery Girl think of his PHONE SEX SCANDAL?” To say that Felicia hadn’t been scanning the gossip sites and fan blogs for news of Sebastian would have been a lie. Once again, she excused herself from the diner, retreating to her truck to read the article.

The new story, like the last, didn’t mention her by name. It did mention Ridgeville, however and went on to make wild guesses about how Sebastian’s romance during filming must have been arranged by the studio to get him to stop his calls to the phone sex line. The last line sent chills down Felicia’s spine. “Our sources say he hasn’t made any calls to Connections, the phone sex line, recently, but with his girlfriend somewhere in Indiana and Sebastian living in New York, it’s only a matter of time before he caves and gives in to his phone sex addiction.”

Shit, this was bad and only getting worse. Felicia had no idea what Sebastian was doing right now, since they hadn’t spoken in several days, but she tried calling him anyway.

The phone rang so many times that she nearly hung up, expecting it to go to voicemail once again.

Then Sebastian’s voice came across the line, low and quiet. “Felicia?”

“Sebastian! I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days—”

“I’ve been busy. There’s been more meetings, lawyers are getting involved. Everything is up in the air…” he trailed off.

“I'm sorry. I can't believe the lengths those people will go to, to dig up dirt on someone.”

 Felicia couldn't see his face but she knew he was seething. "Yeah," he said tersely.

"I'm just worried that now that they know you were making the calls, they know  that your _girlfriend_ is in Ridgeville, they'll find out who you were talking to. I can't imagine what would happen if people found out that I was on the other end of the phone sex line."

"Don't be ridiculous," he practically barked. "Your aunts being offended isn't even on the same scale as the possibility of my contract being terminated."

Felicia felt like the air had been knocked out of her lungs. "You're calling me ridiculous? Get a grip, Sebastian.”

“It is a little bit ridiculous,” he said, his voice raising an octave.

“I may not be a big movie star, but my life is just as important to me as yours is to you," she retorted.

"No, Felicia, wait. That's not... not what I meant!"

Her head was pounding. Emotions twisted and turned inside of her. Anger, rage, confusion and betrayal threatened to bring tears to her eyes. She took a shaky breath. “Yes it is. You wouldn't have said if you didn't mean it. Sebastian, I can’t do this. I can’t…" And before Sebastian had a chance to say another word, she hung up the phone.

She knew their lives were different, but the idea that he didn't think it would ruin her life as much as his life could be ruined was thoughtless. Not only would she be ostracized, but her aunts, Madison, Home Plate, everyone and everything would be affected. And if the story went far enough, so could Ridgeville; maybe the studio would even scrap the movie.  If she had to deal with it on her own, then so be it. If she couldn’t depend on Sebastian to at least try to understand how this would change her entire life then maybe she shouldn’t depend on him at all.

Hot, bitter tears sprang to her eyes and obscured her vision as she drove back to the diner. It was the middle of the week; things were slow enough that she had left Madison there by himself when she went to the store. 

She knew she had to go back inside, she knew she couldn’t hide in her truck forever. She called Bev, hoping her friend could talk. Bev answered right away.

“Hey Fe! What’s up?”

“Bev, it’s over. Sebastian and I. We’re done.”

“Oh honey, what happened?”

Felicia wasn’t sure if Bev was up to date on the scandal but Felicia didn’t feel like rehashing it. “I should have known better. I did know better, that’s what’s so fucking awful about this.”

“What do you mean? I thought you guys were perfect for each other.”

“I fooled myself into thinking we could make it work. But it was never going to be more than a fantasy, a fling. He’s in his own world, Bev. I’ll never really be a part of that.”

“Felicia, you and he are absolutely in the same world. Just because he’s a celebrity doesn’t mean he’s better than you,” Bev tried to reassure her.

“That’s just it, Bev, he’s not better than me. He’s an insensitive asshole.” Before Bev could ask for more details, or worse yet, defend Sebastian, Felicia let her friend know she had to get back to work. “I’ll call you later Bev, I need to go rescue Madison. He’s by himself in the diner right now.”

Somehow, Felicia made it through the rest of the day. She kept her composure, smiled for her customers, and acted as if everything was fine. It wasn’t until the end of the day that she could feel her resolve beginning to crumble.

The last customers had left, the doors were locked and all that was left was the clean up.

“I can take care of it myself tonight,” she told Madison as she filled the sink with soapy water.

“Are you sure?” he asked hesitantly. “I’m more than happy to clean up.”

“No, really. It’s fine. I’m fine,” she said, her voice cracking. The tears she had been holding in all afternoon threatened to return. Felicia bent over the sink, immersing her arms in the water, furiously scrubbing a stubborn stain on the bottom of a large soup pot.

Ignoring Madison she cried silently, taking out her frustration on the dishes. She heard him moving around behind her and then suddenly his hand was on her shoulder.

“Felicia, what’s wrong?” he asked, concern showing on his face as he came up beside her.

“Oh, Madison…” she wailed, “it’s over. I ended things with Sebastian.”

Madison gently led her away from the sink and pulled a stool over, guiding her to sit. “Felicia, it’s going to be okay. You don’t need him. You were doing fine before he showed up, you’ll be fine again.”

 Madison’s well meant words only made her cry harder.”You… don’t… you don’t  understand,” she managed to squeeze out between sobs.  “It’s _complicated_!”

 Madison grew pale. “You're not... I mean... he didn't... are you pregnant?" he asked with a gulp.

Felicia was still crying but she had to stifle a laugh. Madison looked at her, appearing more confused than before. “No,” she answered. “I’m not pregnant.”

“Well,” he said slowly. “At least there's that.”

Felicia let the tears flow as she sat there on the stool.  She didn’t care how ridiculous she must seem.  She barely noticed as Madison bent down, folding his tall frame nearly in half, to bring his face level with hers.

She did notice when he cupped her face in his large hands and thumbed away her tears. She blinked at him numbly as he slowly brought his lips close to hers. She was a sniffling, snotty mess and Madison still kissed her.

The kiss was soft, and gentle and she let him kiss her because she couldn’t think of what else to do. It wasn’t awful, as far as kisses went, but there was no spark. She loved Madison but as a friend or a brother, not like that.

He cleared his throat and shifted his weight from foot to foot before straightening and looking down at her. “I know I’m not a movie star, but Fe, I’ve loved you since I started working here, five years ago.”

Felicia wiped her arm across her eyes, clearing away the last of the tears. “Madison. Oh, Madison. I’m so sorry. You’re sweet, and kind and an amazing person, but I can’t. Not right now. It’s just not fair. It’s not a choice between you and Sebastian. I’m sorry.”

“Shit,” Madison mumbled half under his breath. “Fe. Felicia, I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m a jerk. If you need a friend, I’m here for you. I missed my chance; I waited too long I guess. I just wish I would have told you how I felt before he came to town. But I’m here if you need a shoulder to cry on,” he said, patting his shoulders with the opposite hands.

Felicia knew it wouldn’t have mattered. She had fallen for Sebastian long before he came to Ridgeville. She couldn’t exactly tell Madison that. She couldn’t tell him that she was upset not just because she and Sebastian were over, but because there was a possibility that her secret job would soon become public knowledge. Madison already seemed to dislike Sebastian, there was no need to give him more of a reason to hate him.

Not that Sebastian had been the one to convince her to take a job as a phone sex operator. In fact, it was because of him she’d given it up. But if it weren’t for him, for her getting involved with him… well, there was no sense in dwelling on the “what if.” What kind of relationship had they had anyway. Not a real one, he'd been lonely, so had she and they had a false sense of connection from the phone calls and both of them should have known it was nothing more than a fling.

Madison insisted she stay sitting while he finished cleaning the kitchen. By the time he was done, Felicia had rerun the conversation with Sebastian over in her head several times. Perhaps she had been too quick to tell him things were over but if he couldn’t take a second to see what she was facing then she wasn’t about to call him back and apologize. Let him make the first move.

“Hey Fe, you gonna be okay to drive yourself home?” Madison asked as they turned out the lights and walked towards the door. “I can give you a ride if you want. And pick you up in the morning.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I think I need some time by myself, just to get my head straight.” Felicia gave him a quick hug, grateful for his concern. Madison watched her, waiting until she was in her truck pulling away before getting into his car.

She drove home feeling numb. There was nothing to look forward to there. No call from Sebastian, no one waiting for her.  As she approached her front door, she nearly tripped over a large box. Unlocking the door and shoving the package inside, Felicia looked at the label.

The package was from Sebastian. Shit. The surprise he had told her about, that he had bought her upon his return to New York. What could he have possibly sent her? Felicia wasn’t sure she even wanted to find out. But she decided to open the package anyway.

She carefully opened the outer shipping box to find two smaller boxes nestled inside of it. Both were plain white with no markings to give her a clue as to their contents. She picked up the smaller of the two, sitting down on the living room floor. She lifted the lid off the box to find a pair of shoes. Not just any shoes, _heels_. They were black but they were far from plain. They had an ankle strap and nearly five-inch heels. They were her size and they were gorgeous. Felicia sighed as she set them aside and reached for the second box. She opened the lid to find that the second box contained a dress. As she carefully removed the dress from the box, the soft, dove gray fabric shimmered as it slithered to the floor, the iridescent fabric catching the light and subtly shifting from light to dark. She stood, holding the dress. It was strapless and fell just to her knees. Like the heels, it was beautiful.

Wracked by fresh sobs, Felicia put the dress and heels back inside the box. She didn’t know what Sebastian had intended when he had bought them, but it didn’t matter now. She put the box in her closet, burying it out of sight.

* * *

Sebastian sat stunned, phone in hand, unable to believe that Felicia had hung up on him. Not just hung up on him but also told him it was over. She had dumped him.

He’d spent the week trying to smooth things over with a half dozen different people. His agent was up his ass, his manager was on his case and the studio was trying to keep things quiet while grumbling about his future with them at the same time. Felicia saying what she had was the last straw.

What was he supposed to do? He obviously couldn’t change what he’d done. Until that moment, he hadn’t wanted to. But if Felicia was done with him then what had been the point? He was alone once again and now his career might be coming to a premature end.

What he needed, he decided, was to get drunk. He plugged his phone in next to his bed and walked to the liquor cabinet where he found two bottles of rum that he had forgotten about. He pulled them out, pleased to see one was unopened and the other was nearly full. He thought about mixing it with Diet Coke. He really didn’t like the taste of it straight, but the thought of cutting it reminded him of the dinner he had made for Felicia, when they drank rum and Diet Coke together.

He cradled the bottle in his arms and threw himself onto his couch. “Here’s to me,” he said opening the rum. “Trash.” He took a swig directly from the bottle, his lips curling around the glass neck. He winced at the slightly bittersweet taste of the rum burning his throat. Sebastian was disgusted with himself, with everything that had happened. But he didn’t care anymore.

He flopped back onto his couch, throwing his feet up on the leather ottoman. He settled back, getting comfortable. _I’m not moving until this bottle is gone. Till it’s gone or till I forget_. The more he swallowed, the easier it was.

He was drinking to forget but every sip reminded him of the way Felicia’s lips tasted. He drank himself through the night, nursing the bottle of rum into the gray light of morning. The more he drank the more he missed her and wanted to call her. It didn’t matter that he had no idea what time it was; he stumbled to his bedroom to retrieve his phone from where he had left it charging. Fumbling with the cord he pulled it from the wall. His hands didn’t seem to want to grasp properly and the phone slipped from his hand onto the wood floor. Feeling dizzy, he slowly bent to retrieve it and found that the screen was shattered.

 “Fuck,” he cursed loudly. The phone was broken, just like his relationship and quite possibly his career. He picked it up and promptly flung it against the wall, smashing the phone beyond repair.  Stumbling back to the couch, he returned to the bottle.

The enormity of what he had lost hit him then, and he sank to the floor. He curled up and rested his head against the couch cushions. He clutched the bottle against his chest and tipped it towards his lips every so often. He didn’t remember starting in on the second bottle but when he closed his eyes he was grateful to see only darkness and not images of Felicia’s face.

When Sebastian woke up his head spun and his stomach was churning. He had no idea how long he had been out. He still felt drunk and there was an annoying sound that just wouldn’t stop. He blinked, trying to place the noise.

Damn it. Someone was knocking on the door. With a groan, Sebastian pulled himself to his feet and shuffled to the door. He tried to look through the peephole but couldn’t get his eyes to focus. Leaving the chain in place he cracked the door open.

“Hey sunshine!” came a familiar booming voice.

“Shit, keep it down, would you, Evans,” he said as he unlatched the door and opened it fully. “What do you want? Why are you here?”

Chris stepped inside, brushing Sebastian aside. He raised an eyebrow at Sebastian’s state as he closed the door behind him. “I think you know why I’m here, man.”

Ignoring Chris, Seb slunk back to the couch, laying down and pulling a throw pillow over his head.

“Well you look like shit. Want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Chris asked, sitting in a chair opposite the couch.

“I’m sure you’ve heard by now,” Sebastian muttered into the pillow.

“I did. Well, my ma told me actually, you know how she is with looking up stuff about me on the internet. I guess she’s started with my co-stars now,” Chris chuckled. “But seriously man, what were you thinking. I guess you did use that number, call that line. Jesus Christ. What the hell did you do? I told you not to be stupid about it.”

“It’s too fucking late, Chris, you really have no idea what’s going on,” Sebastian said, shoving the pillow aside as he struggled to sit up.

“What did I tell you man, don’t tell anyone who you are. You did, didn’t you? Jesus, you’re such a lost cause. You better not have dropped my name.” Chris shook his head in disbelief. “So who was the girl you spilled to? She decide she wanted an extra payday and sell you out? What is your girlfriend going to think?”

 Sebastian choked back a laugh. “She’s one of the operators man, she’s the one I called and talked to. I mean, she wasn’t my girlfriend then, but then we were in the same place at the same time and…” he stopped, throwing up his hands in disgust. “Don’t worry though, your name never  came up,” he added.

Chris’s eyes widened and he let out a low whistle.

“And I tried to talk to her about it,” Sebastian continued. “To let her know how fucked up I was over this and she got upset that she would be outed too. And she hung up on me. We’re over man. So the whole fucking thing wasn’t worth a damn, was it? Because I’m still alone, and now my career is probably in the toilet. My agent is freaking out and I probably have 20 missed calls from my mom but I can’t even call her and try to do damage control because my phone is busted.”

Chris looked thoughtful. “You'll get past it Seb, you'll find someone new.”

“Yeah, what a catch I am. I'm drunk out of my mind for the second day in a row and I might have put an end to my career because I made a fucking idiot out of myself because I was lonely. I’m a walking disaster, Chris.”

“Shit, Seb, you act like you’re the first person in history to fuck up. You don’t have the market cornered on that,” Chris said with a small laugh.

“I know, I know. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. I don’t even have Felicia to turn to.”

“Well Sebastian, I’ve got news for you. You’re not going to find clarity in the bottom of whatever bottle you’ve been sucking on. Sure, it might help you feel good or forget temporarily. But if you really want to get over it, get your head out of your ass and decide what’s really important to you. You gonna do damage control and try and fix your career or are you gonna go after that girl? Or can you juggle both?” Chris rose from the chair, throwing Sebastian a look of pity. “I came by to see how you were handling this. From the looks of it, _you aren’t_. Man up Sebastian.”  He sighed. “ Listen, if you need anything, call me.” Chris lingered, his hand on the doorknob. “I’ll be in town for awhile. I’ll check up on you before I leave. I don’t want to come back in a couple of days and find you still on the same bender,” he added before letting himself out.

Sebastian knew Chris had a point. He wanted to call Felicia and apologize, he wanted to tell her that it didn’t matter what happened, he wanted to be with her. The only problem was, his phone really was smashed beyond repair. He scrubbed his hands over his face. First order of business was a cold shower. Then he’d go buy a new phone.

An hour later he found himself arguing with the kid trying to sell him a new phone.

“What do you mean you can’t save anything off of it? That’s what you guys are supposed to do, isn’t it?” he asked for the third time.

“Sorry sir, your old phone isn’t salvageable, even the data card.  I can’t transfer any of your contacts or pictures over to the new phone.”

“Fine, whatever. Just give me the new phone then,” he said grudgingly.

Sebastian paid for the phone and left the store fuming. He stopped by his manager’s office and let them know he had a new number. They assured him they would pass along the information to his agent and anyone that needed to reach him.

Sebastian didn’t know Felicia’s number. He remembered that there was a seven and a three and other than that he had no idea. She’d programmed it in his phone and he had never actually dialed it. He knew this time of day she would be in the diner so he called information and got the number hoping that she would talk to him.

The phone rang a few times as Sebastian walked down the street, pulling his hat low across his face.

“Home Plate, this is Madison speaking. How can I help you?”

“Madison, this is Sebastian. Sebastian Stan. May I speak to Felicia?” he asked.

There was a pause and then Madison cleared his throat. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said and then there was a click as he hung up the phone.

* * *

Weeks turned into months as Felicia kept waiting, dreading the day reporters or paparazzi showed up to harass her, interview her, or talk about Sebastian. Madison never tried to kiss her again, but he seemed to go out of his way to make Felicia smile. She let him take over some of the tasks she had always done and in return she actually went out with him, as friends, now and then. She tried to keep her breakup from her aunts but they both noticed that she didn’t seem to talk about Sebastian like she once had and that she seemed more subdued, unhappy.

Basically, for Felicia, things had gone back to the way it was before Sebastian had entered her life. Except for the lingering feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Her contract with Connections had been terminated. It hadn’t been her decision, but the company thought it was for the best. They told Felicia that in light of “the incident” with Sebastian they thought it wise that she no longer worked for the company. She understood, although she hadn’t leaked that he’d made the calls, she _had_ gone against company policy in meeting him.

She wasn’t sure if she could have continued to talk to other men, have phone sex with them, even if she wasn’t with Sebastian any longer. It just didn’t feel right; there were too many memories of Sebastian attached to the job. She’d sent samples of her photographs to the gallery owner friend that Sebastian had told about her. She hadn’t sold anything yet, but he assured her that her photos were drawing a lot of interest and he seemed very positive.

Positivity didn’t help pay the bills though.  But somehow she was making it work; they’d had a really good summer and the closer the movie came to being released the more interest and traffic it was bringing to Ridgeville.

According to the word around town, they were a month away from the movie’s release. Felicia was cleaning the counter and tables, while Madison was in the kitchen preparing for the dinner crowd.

The bell over the door jangled and Felicia looked up to find herself face to face with a stranger. It wasn’t that she knew everyone that ever came into the diner, but this man looked very out of place. His hair was slicked back and he was considerably overdressed compared to the normal clientele.

“Hi, welcome to Home Plate,” Felicia greeted him. “Take a seat wherever you like.” She watched as the man slid onto a stool, setting a notebook onto the counter in front of him.

She came around the counter. “What can I get for you today? Would you like to see a menu?”

The man smiled at her, he was obviously trying to be friendly but it made her feel uneasy. “I’ll take a cup of coffee,” he said.

 “I’d like to ask you a few questions. If you don’t mind?” The man opened his notebook and looked at her expectantly. “I’m here interviewing people about the movie that was filmed here over the summer.”

Felicia broke out into a nervous sweat. “Okay, sure,” she said, her voice shaking.

“Great. I’ve talked to some other folks around town and they’ve told me they’re really pleased with the way Sebastian Stan portrayed Joe Robbins. What did you think of his take on such a local legend?”

“Well, I didn’t get a chance to really see them filming, I was pretty busy working here,” Felicia laughed, relaxing slightly.

“You must have met Sebastian at some point. I’ve heard he spend a lot of time here in the diner. Is there any truth to that?”

Felicia chose her words carefully. “He’s an amazing actor and a very kind person.” All true. She certainly wasn’t going to talk about how callous he had been and their breakup. Hopefully no one outside of Ridgeville would ever know she was the mystery woman Sebastian had dated.

“Mmmhmm. And what do you think about the scandal that’s surrounded him lately?”

“It doesn’t change the fact that he's a good man, he did a wonderful job and I have no doubt the movie will be amazing.  But regardless of what happened, he really is a good man,” she said. And it was true. Felicia wished she hadn't gotten scared and ended things. She knew Sebastian was dealing with a lot and he would have benefited from her help to get through. Still he had never called, never attempted to talk to her once she told him it was over.

“So he was on his best behavior while he was here?”

“He was. Ridgeville loved him, I, I mean we, the town, still loves him.”

The reporter nodded. “I see. So you're looking forward to having him back in town for the premiere next month?”

Shit. What? Felicia didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. A premiere? Here in Ridgeville? That Sebastian would be attending? “Umm. Sure. I think everyone in town is excited to have him back… for the premiere.” The premiere that she hadn’t known was happening until a second ago.

The reporter looked down at his notebook. “You are Felicia Ryan, correct?” he asked looking up at her.

Felicia’s heart stopped. Had someone blabbed that she had been dating Sebastian? She nodded slowly. “Yes…”

The man smiled his smarmy smile again. “So, how do you feel, having been the cause of the scandal?”

“I’m sorry. What?”

“Sources are telling us that you’re the woman that Sebastian Stan made calls to on a phone sex line. Is it true you worked for an company called Connections?”

Felicia felt the floor shift under her. Her head was spinning. How had she been found out? Her contract with Connections was entirely confidential. No one there could have leaked the information… could they? That was the only possibility… unless Sebastian had mentioned her name.

Just then she heard Madison come out of the cooler, his arms full of dinner prep. The phone was ringing but she made no move to answer it. Dimly, she listened as Madison answered it. She couldn’t focus on what he said, instead she stood there stunned, unable to think of a response. The reporter simply grinned at her and she knew there was no going back.

“Well, answer the question. Were you employed by an agency called Connections and did you receive calls from Sebastian Stan while working for Connections?” The reporter asked again, but the tone of his voice suggested he already knew the answer to that.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Felicia wasn’t sure how it happened, but somehow Madison had made the reporter leave. He’d put up the closed sign and called her aunts, who had arrived in minutes.

Once Thelma and Carla were there, Madison made his exit. “Felicia, everything’s going to be okay. Call me if you need me,” he said as he left.

Felicia sat at the counter, grateful she was no longer standing. Her knees were weak, her palms were sweating and she braced herself for what her aunts might say.

Refusing to look at either of them, she started talking. “You’ll hear it sooner or later. It may as well come from me. That reporter, he wasn’t just here asking about the movie. He was asking other questions.”

On her left, she heard Thelma speak up. “Well, what did he talk to you about then, dear?”

Felicia drew in a deep breath. “He was asking about Sebastian,” she began.

She could feel both of her aunts looking at her. Carla patted her shoulder. “He’s such a sweet boy.”

Felicia nodded. “But something happened. There was a big story about how… how he had made calls to a phone sex line.”

“Oh… my,” Thelma said.

Felicia continued. “That’s not why they were here today though. That story broke over a month ago. They came today to… to talk to me because I was the one he spoke to on the phone sex line,” she blurted out.

Carla let out a soft gasp. Felicia braced herself. She bit her lip, still refusing to look at either of her aunts.

“Wait, you did what?” Thelma asked.

“Did she say?” Carla whispered to her sister.

“She did,” came Thelma’s hushed reply. Their quiet whispers continued.

Felicia found she couldn’t concentrate on the soft murmurs her aunts were exchanging, the fuzzy sounds fading from her ears as though they were stuffed with cotton.

She felt Thelma’s hand cup her chin and her aunt gently brought Felicia’s face around towards her. “Sweetheart—“

“I’m sorry,” Felicia said, holding back a sob. “I know you must be upset with me.”

Carla came around to stand next to her sister, so that they were both looking at Felicia. “Sweetheart, we would never be upset at you.”

Thelma nodded in agreement. “We know about the birds and the bees, Felicia. We’re not that old. You were obviously providing a service that people were willing to pay for, so good for you.”

 Carla patted Felicia’s hands, covering them with her own. “I just have one question, Felicia. Was it because you were lonely? Because honey, there are so many men that we could fix you up with.”

Felicia cracked a smile. “No. No, it was because I needed the extra money.”

Both of her aunts spoke at once. “What are you talking about?” Thelma turned to look at Carla and they both turned to Felicia, looking confused.

“You know I’ve been keeping the books, paying the bills. Half the time it’s a balancing act to pay a bill before it’s too overdue to get another delivery. That’s why I rarely take home a paycheck. It’s all I can do to keep Madison on full time. It’s why Kelly is never here unless we’re really busy.”

Felicia watched as her aunt’s faces fell.

“Sweetheart,” Carla said. “Why didn’t you ever tell us?”

“We could have helped you. We would have worked more,” Thelma said.

“Or taken a pay cut,” Carla added.

Felicia couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. She felt them slipping down her face, the culmination of everything that had happened. Sebastian leaving, their breakup, the reporter’s ambush and now her aunts being so accepting of what she had thought would shock them.

Carla wrapped her arms around Felicia, hugging her tightly.

“Oh, Felicia,” she heard Thelma murmur. “Is this why you and Sebastian broke up?”

Felicia sniffled. “How did you know we broke up?”

Carla pulled back, looking at Felicia with a soft smile. “We could tell. You wouldn’t talk about it, but we could tell.”

“You were so happy when you were with him,” Thelma said.

“It would never have worked,” Felicia said. “Our lives are just too different. Besides, I’ll never see him again…” she trailed off as she remembered the reporter’s words. The premiere. Sebastian was coming to town for a special premiere of the movie.

She had a little over a month to prepare herself to see him again.

* * *

The next four weeks went by in a blur. More reporters eventually started showing up at the diner. All of them asked the same questions. And it wasn’t just Felicia they hounded. They harassed her aunts, Madison, even some of the regular customers. Strangely, no one at the diner seemed to even believe the stories the reporters were asking about. No one even thought that it was possible that Felicia had done what they were saying. What she actually _had_ done. Felicia suspected there were some people in town who had some not-so-nice things to say about her. She knew how the gossip mill worked. During the worst of it she stopped going anywhere other than her own home and the diner. And when she ventured out to the grocery store or other places in town again, she always caught someone whispering and staring. But as the weeks wore on and the reporters weren’t getting a good story or even old dirt on Felicia, they gradually started coming around less and less. Before long, the town was preoccupied with the movie’s upcoming release rather than the alleged phone sex line that Felicia had run or worked for or whatever story was the latest gossip.

Everyone in town was excited to see the movie. It was a promotional event the studio had thought up and it seemed it was working exactly the way they had planned. The only movie theater in Ridgeville was owned by the same family that ran the drive-in movie theater. Felicia hadn’t been back to the drive-in since her trip there with Sebastian. And now she knew she wouldn’t be able to avoid seeing him on the night of the premiere. She and her aunts had received a special invitation and were guaranteed seats thanks to the diner being featured during a small but pivotal scene in the film.

When the date grew closer, Felicia began to panic. She realized she’d need to dress up for the premiere. She started a frantic rummage through her closet and that was when she came across the box, the outfit that Sebastian has sent her. But could she wear it?

She called Bev, asking for advice.

“What am I going to wear? I never dress up…”

“What? You don’t own any dresses?”

“No, I do own dresses. I mean, nothing fancy.” Except… Except she did. “Bev, right before we broke up, Sebastian sent me an outfit he picked out for me. I don’t know where he thought I was going to wear it but it’s gorgeous.”

“And it’s fancy, like something you could wear to this premiere?”

Felicia sighed. “It is. It would be perfect. Only… do you think he’d be upset, seeing me wear it even though we’re not together? Maybe I should have sent it back to him?”

“Girl, wear it. I bet he chose something that would turn everyone’s heads. You wear it and you rock it. And if he feels bad about it, about seeing you in it and not having you anymore, well then, good. You’re teaching him a lesson.”

* * *

How long does it take to forget someone you love? For Felicia, the two months since the breakup hadn’t been enough. How could she forget him when his face was everywhere she turned? The movie had been a huge boon to Ridgeville; it created an interest in the softball program that the town was proud of and had increased the previously nonexistent tourism. When she thought about it—something she tried not to do these days—it hadn’t even been that long since Sebastian had come into her life. Not even an entire year had passed since the time they had first talked on the phone. In such a short amount of time, he had come into her life unexpectedly and then stopped being a part of it in an even more unexpected way.

When the night of the premiere arrived, Felicia styled her hair swept up in a mess of curls, leaving the back loose in a cascade of gentle waves. It looked beautiful but had taken a good half hour to do as she’d had to use a curling iron, dozens of hairpins, and more hair spray than she normally used in a year. Once her hair was done, she applied her makeup before slipping into her dress. She went subtle with her makeup; she wasn’t used to wearing much anyway. She felt beautiful, it was such a bittersweet night, because she couldn’t help but imagine wearing this outfit for Sebastian, seeing his reaction to her, but she was dreading that exact thing. The final look was stunning and Felicia knew it would knock Sebastian’s socks off.  Felicia felt two distinct, contradictory feelings: anxiety over seeing Sebastian again and something else, something she couldn’t quite place. It wasn’t almost a sense of triumph. Sure she was wearing the outfit he had chosen for her, but she looked amazing in it and hopefully it would make him suffer.

She still felt a sense of loss, an empty spot inside of her that Sebastian had filled. True, she had been the one to initiate the breakup but it must have been the right decision because she had never heard from him. Felicia supposed she should be relieved that the fallout over the phone-sex scandal hadn’t been worse.

Guide ropes blocked off the area in front of the theater. There was even a red carpet leading to the entrance. Felicia arrived with her aunts, choosing to ride with them rather than attempting to drive her truck with her heels and dress. There were a few people waiting behind the guide ropes. Some were people Felicia knew as customers from the diner. Other faces were unrecognizable. They had to be there hoping to catch a glimpse of Sebastian and the other stars.

As they approached the red carpet, there was a photographer waiting.

“You ladies look amazing. Can I get some quick pictures? he asked.

“Go for it,” Carla said.

Felicia posed, Carla on her left and Thelma on her right. She smiled as the photographer snapped the picture.

As they approached the doors of the theater, a loud commotion came from the front of the red carpet. Felicia stopped, turning to see what was going on. Her aunts continued into the theater, eager to find their seats.

Felicia heard an excited murmur run through the crowd. The photographer who had politely taken  her photo was now frantically snapping pictures. Sebastian stepped out of a car, dressed in a dark gray suit, white shirt and black bow tie. His hair had grown and it was clear he had tamed it with some kind of product. Felicia couldn’t deny that he looked very handsome.

His smiled politely for the photographer, waving to the fans behind the guide ropes. His smile faltered and his mouth gaped slightly when his eyes landed on Felicia.

She raised her fingers to her mouth, hiding a smirk. She had nearly forgotten that he had the most expressive face of anyone she’d ever known. His every emotion, whatever he was feeling or thinking always showed on his face, clear as day. Pleased with his reaction, Felicia spun on her heels and entered the theater.

She breezed through the lobby, barely noticing the special decorations that were up just for the premiere.  Winding through the rows of seats, she found her aunts near the front center of the theater. With a shaky breath, Felicia sat down in her seat.

“Oh my goodness, I feel like I’m in Hollywood. I can’t believe it,” Thelma said to Felicia, leaning across the arm of her chair.

“Enjoy it. This is the closest to Hollywood we’re ever going to get,” Carla laughed.

Felicia relaxed, listening to her aunts chatter as the theater began to fill up.

A few minutes before the movie was scheduled to start, a spotlight lit up the front of the theater. Sebastian stepped out into the light, along with Carl Link, the director. Joe’s daughters then joined them. The crowd clapped excitedly. Felicia joined them, clapping half-heartedly. She found her eyes couldn’t leave Sebastian’s face. He looked nervous and slightly uncomfortable, but he was doing his best to hide it.

Carl held up a microphone and the crowd fell silent. He cleared his throat before speaking. “We’re so pleased to be here today. We came to Ridgeville this summer to make a movie. We did that but I think we all feel that we did more than just that.”

Carl passed the microphone to Joe’s daughters. They smiled and thanked him as the microphone passed to the oldest daughter, Caroline.

“I wish our father could be here today. Not only would he have been so grateful for the way that he’s being honored by this movie, but I know he would have been tickled to see himself being played by such a handsome actor.”

Sebastian lowered his head, shaking it slightly. He almost dropped the microphone when Caroline tried to hand it off to him.

Sebastian smiled broadly. Felicia watched him intently. She knew it was a forced smile.

“I came onto this movie knowing next to nothing about softball. I learned from some of the best players and coaches around,” he pointed towards Sam and his family in the audience. “I hope my performance does justice to the memory of Joe Robbins."

Sebastian paused, scanning the faces before him. Felicia felt that he was looking right at her when he spoke. “I had a lot of fun during my time in Ridgeville. I made a movie and I like to think I made some strong connections. And I just want to thank you… thank Ridgeville for being so amazing.”

Carl took the microphone back from Sebastian. “Alright ladies and gentlemen, let’s watch this movie, what do you say?”

A cheer went up from the crowd as the lights slowly started to dim.

 With the lights down, Felicia lost sight of Sebastian. She wondered where he would be sitting.

She didn’t have to wonder very long. A familiar shape dropped into the seat beside her. Felicia stiffened. She tried not to breathe him in, but it had been too long, and he was intoxicating.

The movie began to play, music swelling over the opening credits. Felicia refused to turn and look at Sebastian. Just his presence alone was enough of a distraction. The last thing she needed was to lock eyes with him in the dark theater.

She seethed silently. Who had made these seating arrangements? Felicia fought the urge to shift in her seat. She didn’t want to give Sebastian any hint of how uncomfortable it was sitting this close to him.

“Are you ready for this?” She heard Sebastian whisper.

Before Felicia could answer, Thelma chimed in from her left. “Yes! I can’t wait to see you on the big screen!”

Despite her closeness to Sebastian, Felicia was quickly engrossed. His appearance on screen was such a vivid reminder of their summer together. He looked gorgeous and tanned and through the magic of editing even his softball playing looked flawless.

There were a few scenes that elicited laughter from the crowd. Yet Felicia didn’t hear Sebastian’s distinctive laugh joining in.

The movie was perfect. The crowd loved it and Felicia got the impression that it wasn’t just because the subject was near and dear to their hearts.

When the end credits rolled and the lights came up, someone in the audience started to clap. It rippled through the crowd and soon nearly everyone was on their feet applauding.

Carl took the stage once again and invited everyone present to the hotel where there would be an after party.

Felicia turned to her aunts, purposely ignoring Sebastian. “Well ladies, shall we go to the party?”

Her aunts couldn’t stop talking about the movie. They were as excited as children were on Christmas. They chattered as they left the theater and all the way to the hotel.

Felicia found a quiet spot where she could just observe the party. She wasn’t sure Sebastian would show up. Maybe he had only flown in for the premiere and was already on his way to the airport. Even if he wasn’t, there was no reason to think he’d come to the party.

It caught her by surprise when a few minutes later he did show up. He was alone and seemed to be scanning the room for someone. Felicia cursed herself for noticing him the second he entered the room. He noticed her too, because he started walking in her direction, intent clear on his face.

She was already angry and feeling frustrated that she’d had to sit next to him during the movie. He didn’t look any more at ease than earlier, but he still looked damned good.

He was soon close enough that she could see his blue eyes. His pupils were slightly dilated and irritated as she was, Felicia couldn’t shake the voice inside her head that was screaming to shove him into the coatroom and bang him.

She drew in a slow breath, bracing herself for what he had to say.

Crossing the short distance between them in one long stride Sebastian slipped his hand into Felicia’s and entwined their fingers, squeezing Felicia’s hand.

“Felicia,” he said his voice cracking slightly.

Felicia drew back her hand, smoothing it against her dress. “Sebastian.”

He reached out a hand, as if to touch her again, but stopped himself. He nervously fidgeted with the lapels on his jacket.

“Is there somewhere we can talk?” He looked around the room. “Somewhere private?”

She wanted to say no. She’d held her ground this long. What made him think that he could show up after all this time with no contact and expect her to behave civilly? Felicia wasn’t going to cause a scene, she wouldn’t ruin this night for anyone else.

“Fine,” she said tersely. “Come on.” She led Sebastian towards the side exit. The night was cool and no one else was outside.

Sebastian’s tongue darted out, licking his bottom lip. Felicia took a small step backwards, trying to keep enough distance between them. Away from the people and lights of the hotel lobby it was much harder to resist the familiar warmth of his arms.

“Felicia, please, just hear me out.” Sebastian rubbed an eyebrow with his hand. “What can I do to convince you that I’m sorry? I was a self-centered jerk. I didn’t see what I was losing until it was too late.”

Felicia blinked back tears. She refused to cry in front of him. Not now, after all this time.

“Felicia, I love you. I have from the moment we met. Even before that. I just want you to know how much I regret the way I acted.”

“I loved you Sebastian, I did.” I still do, she thought. “But even without the drama with the tabloids and the paparazzi digging up dirt and trying to ruin your life, our lives… we still aren’t right for each other. Our lives are too different. Your life is in New York, mine is here.”

“You’re wrong, I’ve never met anyone who was more right for me.”

Felicia shook her head, growing more frustrated with his obstinacy by the second.

“What do you want from me Sebastian? I know I was the one to end things but all this time and you never once tried to contact me. Now you think you can just show up here and I’ll take you back?”

Sebastian’s face fell. His forehead wrinkled in confusion. “I did try and contact you—“

“My phone never rang. I never even got a text.”

“No!” he insisted. “I know, I… my phone… I smashed it, I lost your number. I couldn’t call or text. But I tried calling the diner dozens of times.”

Now it was Felicia’s turn to look confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Every time I called someone else answered. Madison told me I should leave you alone. Your aunts told me to stop calling. Eventually I did.”

Felicia was stunned. She honestly had no idea that he had called once, much less several times. How had everyone kept it a secret from her?

“I didn’t know,” she said quietly.

Sebastian stepped closer, and this time she didn’t back away. He reached for her, placing his hands on her arms. Felicia felt goose bumps rise on her skin. His touch still affected her.

“Felicia, please…” Sebastian leaned close, as if to kiss her. “I’m only in town for another day…”

Felicia didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t stand there and let him kiss her, let her feelings erase everything that she’d been through.

She wrenched out of his grasp and ran back inside, leaving Sebastian standing stunned on the patio.

She rushed through the lobby, trying to find Carla or Thelma.

She found them both chatting with some of the film crew. “I need to leave,” she blurted out, interrupting their conversation.

Carla looked up in surprise, ready to scold Felicia for her rudeness. What she saw on Felicia’s face changed her mind.

“What’s wrong dear?” she asked with concern.

“I just… I can’t stay. I’m not feeling well,” Felicia lied.

Thelma was already on her feet, fishing her car keys from her purse.”Come on,” she said, taking Felicia by the elbow. “I’ll run you home and then come right back.”

Felicia hoped her aunt wouldn’t question her real motive for wanting to leave. They drove to Felicia’s trailer in silence.

Thelma parked the car, leaving it running and turned to Felicia. “I won’t say anything, but you’re not really sick are you?”

Felicia shook her head.

“Man troubles. I saw you going outside with Sebastian. I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but he’s obviously very determined. It’s clear that he still has strong feelings for you.”

Felicia opened the car door, not meeting Thelma’s eyes. “I don’t know what to do, Aunt Thel.”

Her aunt reached over, patting Felicia’s knee. “Follow your heart. Don’t over think things. If he makes you happy, let him know.”

Felicia exited the car, shutting the door behind her. _Let him know_. The question was, how did she really feel about Sebastian?

* * *

The next day the magic of the premiere was over and things seemed to fall back into their normal routine.

Felicia was at the diner, prepping vegetables for a batch of soup. She heard the jingle of the door and a few minutes later, Thelma came into the kitchen looking for her.

“Felicia, there’s someone here to see you.”

Felicia laid down the knife and looked up. “Who is it?” she questioned.

Thelma hesitated. “It’s Sebastian.” She held up a hand. “Let me finish. He’d like to talk to you, but if you don’t want to see him, I can tell him to leave.” Her aunt waited for her answer, watching her closely.

Felicia sighed. She knew he would soon be leaving again. “Send him back,” she said. “I’ll listen to what he has to say.”

She walked to the sink, washing her hands while she waited. She had just finished drying them when Sebastian entered the kitchen.

“Felicia,” he said as he approached her. “Thank you for agreeing to talk with me.”

“I’ll hear you out, but beyond that I’m not making any promises.”

Sebastian nodded. “I love you. I know I’ve said it before, but it’s true. I’ve been so lost without since we’ve been apart. When everything fell apart… I took a good, long look at my life and I realized that none of it means anything if you’re not in it.”

Felicia bit her lip, willing herself not to cry. He sounded so sincere. No, she knew he was sincere, she could see it on his face. But how did this change anything? She couldn’t leave with him before, nothing was different now.

“Please, Felicia. I need you in my life.”

“What are you saying, Sebastian?”

“I’m asking you to move to New York with me. I know it’s last minute, I have to go soon, my flight leaves in an hour.”

“Oh Sebastian. You know I can’t. How can I just pick up and leave? My life is here and my family is here. I can’t abandon the diner and leave my aunts just because you want me to.”

“I know. I… I thought that if you agreed to come with me I could write them a check. That way they can decide whether they want to hire a new employee or—”

Felicia was stunned. “Are you trying to buy back my love?”

Sebastian’s eyes widened. “No! I just thought—”

“Am I really nothing to you but an affordable whore? Money doesn’t solve every problem.”

Sebastian stuttered, trying to protest.

“Just leave. Please. Please leave,” Felicia said. Her voice was quiet but commanding.

She turned her back on Sebastian and held her breath until she heard him leave the kitchen. She was hurt and angry and yet she wanted to laugh. As stupid as it was, money would go a long way towards solving some of their problems. If money had never been an issue she never would have taken the job at Connections, she never would have been involved in the scandal. But then she wouldn’t have gotten to know Sebastian, maybe never even met him in the first place.

She threw herself into her work, returning to chopping vegetables, taking out her anger on carrots and celery. She was crying long before she got to the onions and tears streamed down her face as first Carla and then Thelma came into the kitchen.

“I told you not to let him talk to her,” Carla said. “I knew he’d only upset her.”

“What happened dear?” Thelma asked.

“He asked me to move to New York with him,” Felicia said between sniffles. She gave up on chopping the onion and put down the knife again.

“Well, what did you tell him?” Carla asked.

Felicia laughed bitterly. “I told him no. What else was I supposed to say?”

“Don’t you want to be with him?” Thelma asked.

“I don’t know. I thought I did. I still have feelings for him.”

“Then why on earth did you tell him no? Didn’t you want to at least think about it?” Carla asked, sounding surprised.

Felicia shook her head. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t just pack up and leave you two. It wouldn’t be fair to expect you to do all the work here without me.” She looked down at her feet. “He even offered to give you money to pay for a new employee if I left.” She looked up slowly, first to Thelma and then Carla.

Carla blinked, a look of confusion crossing her face. “It really is perfect timing, I told you.”

She turned to Thelma, who gasped softly.  “Oh, Oh dear. We forgot to tell you, didn’t we?”

“Tell me what?” Felicia asked.

Thelma continued. “We had an offer on the diner this afternoon. One of those executives that was here when they filmed the movie. He loved the place so much that he made us an offer last night, at the party after the premiere. That’s who we were talking with when I took you home last night.”

Carla smiled. “We discussed it and we thought you’d be excited for it, so we thought we’d take his offer. It’s enough that we can sell our house here too and retire to Florida. Of course we’ll give you your share too, and you can use it on whatever you like. This is your chance to go to school like we always wanted you to.”

Thelma put an arm around Felicia. “Or move to New York, if that’s what you want to do.”

Felicia shrugged her aunt’s arm off and turned to face both of them. “But I thought you would be here, running Home Plate forever. Or well, until…”

Carla’s face grew alarmed. “Oh honey! You’ve been doing all the real work for years. It hasn’t been very fair of us I suppose, but we thought it was what you wanted. You never said any differently. We only kept things going the way they’ve always been because we thought you were happy here.”

Felicia was dumbfounded. She hadn’t said, and she hadn’t known they wanted her to go to school either. She had just finished high school and then thrown herself into the business full time because it was what was required of her at the time. “So you’re selling the diner?”

Thelma nodded. “Unless you’d rather not. We haven’t signed any papers yet, I’m sure we can still tell him no. I just thought it was time for all of us to move on, to find something to make us happy instead of just making do.”

She wanted her aunts to be happy. If that meant selling the diner, then she wouldn’t stand in their way. “Do it. Be happy. I mean it,” she said, smiling genuinely.

Felicia’s entire body was shaking. Realization crashed over her like a wave. She had to find Sebastian. She had to tell him she loved him before it was too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to everyone who has been coming back every week to read this! We're almost at the end, there's only one more chapter after this! 
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at [lovealetterbomb](http://lovealetterbomb.tumblr.com/)


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Felicia ignored the speed limit on her way to the airport and prayed she wouldn’t get pulled over. What would she tell the cop if she did? “Excuse me officer, I know I was speeding but my ex-boyfriend is a movie star and he’s leaving to go back to New York and I have to find him to tell him I love him before he leaves.” Sure, that wouldn’t sound crazy at all. She remembered the last time she had driven to the airport, the day Sebastian had left.

She parked and ran inside, her eyes scanning the terminal for his familiar form. She didn’t see him immediately, so she ran, pushing through a throng of people and looked for the terminal that he would be waiting at. She checked her watch. Shit, he’d said his flight left in an hour. How long ago had that been?

Felicia found the ticket counter, which was surprisingly empty. A bored-looking woman behind the counter barely looked up as she approached. “Excuse me, but is there a flight for New York boarding now or has it already left?”

The woman sighed heavily, still not looking up. “You just missed it, hon. It left about fifteen minutes ago. The next flight to New York doesn’t leave until seven.”

Felicia’s heart fell. That was in three hours. She’d missed Sebastian. He was gone. And she still didn’t have his number, and he didn’t have hers either. Then, the words that she’d said to her aunts came back to her. _“Be happy.”_

“Give me one ticket for the seven o’clock flight,” she told the woman.

This time the woman did look up. “You sure?” she asked, her fingers poised over her keyboard.

“I’ve never been more sure in my life,” Felicia answered.

With her ticket purchase, three hours gave Felicia just enough time to go home and grab an overnight bag and to get very nervous.

For as much as she’d assured Sebastian he had no need to be nervous flying, she had never been on a plane herself. She’d never been more than a few hours away from Ridgeville her entire life. And now she was about to take a flight, by herself. And after the flight she would be by herself in New York, at least until she found Sebastian.

She wished she could have called him, told him to wait for her. All she had to find him was the address off the box from when he had mailed her the dress and shoes. She’d copied it onto a scrap of paper and had it tucked in her pocket. As she waited in line to go through security, Felicia tried not to seem nervous. She didn’t want anyone to think she was going to hijack the plane.

Still, she couldn’t help but repeatedly check that small slip of paper in her pocket. Right now, it was her only connection to Sebastian. She boarded the plane, her stomach doing nervous flip-flops. It wasn’t a full flight, but It wouldn’t have mattered how many other people were on the plane.

As the plane took off, the reality of the situation hit her full force. What if Sebastian refused to talk to her, turned her away the way she’d done with him? What if she’d already missed her chance? Unbidden, tears came to her eyes and she cried quietly, trying not to attract any attention from her seatmate.

She found that after awhile, she was too busy thinking about Sebastian to be nervous about the flight. It wasn’t a long one and it was, thankfully, smooth. When they landed and she was allowed to exit the plane, Felicity found herself nearly lost in a sea of people.

The airport in New York was not only much bigger than the airport she had flown out of in Indiana, but the amount of people was truly staggering, even for as late in the evening as it was. She had only brought a carry-on bag so she didn’t need to wait for any luggage.

Felicia followed a crowd of people towards what she hoped was the exit. Thankfully once she was outside the crowd seemed less overwhelming. She had no idea how far she was from Sebastian’s apartment but she knew she’d have to take a cab. She stood on the sidewalk unsure what to do. Felicia watched as some of the people she had followed outside hailed cabs and got inside of them.

Gathering up her courage, she stepped forward and tried to mimic their gestures. Several cabs passed her by and she was beginning to feel like she was invisible before she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Startled Felicia whirled around, nearly dropping her bag in the process.

“Excuse me, Miss,” said a gentleman in a rumpled business suit. “Do you need a taxi?”

Felicia nodded. “I need to get to my boyfriend’s apartment. At least I hope he’s still my boyfriend.”

The man smiled. “Let me give you a hand. Seems like you could use it.” He stepped forward and in a few seconds, a cab had stopped for him. He opened the door, holding it for Felicia.

“Thank you so much!” she said as she slid into the cab, clutching her bag.

“You’re welcome. Good luck!” he said shutting the door firmly.

“Where are we going?” the cab driver asked Felicia, glancing in the rearview mirror.

Felicia bit her lip and fished into her pocket for Sebastian’s address. She read it to the cab driver, making sure she recited the numbers correctly.

“OK, it’s gonna be a long ride. But I’ll get you there.”

Felicia settled back against the seat, trusting that the cab driver would take her to the right place. As the miles flew by, she stared out the window, taking in the bright city lights. It was so different from driving through Ridgeville or any of the nearby towns at night. There you could drive for miles and miles without passing another car, and while the miles of cornfields and empty spaces meant beautiful views of the stars, Felicia had to admit that the nightscape in the city had its own kind of beauty.

When the cab came to a complete stop Felicia once again wondered if she had done the right thing. She paid the cab driver the fare and got out of the cab. She checked the address once again, under the streetlight. Here she was, Sebastian’s apartment building.

She knew she hadn’t come this far to chicken out. And even if Sebastian did turn her away, she would at least have closure. She didn’t think she could have lived with herself if she didn’t at least try to let him know how she felt.

She climbed the steps and tried the large door. It was locked. She remembered Sebastian once mentioning something about having to buzz visitors in. Felicia looked to the right of the door and there she found several buttons labeled with tenant’s names.

She drew a deep breath and pressed the button next to Sebastian’s name. She waited for a responding buzz, a voice over the intercom, the door opening. But nothing came. She pressed the button a second time and waited again. Nothing.

* * *

 

Sebastian was sitting in a bar with Chris. They’d already been there for more than three hours, but Sebastian wasn’t ready to go home yet. Chris understood, he’d even promised not to try and get Sebastian to sing karaoke.

When Sebastian had gotten back home after his flight he’d felt worse than the day Felicia had broken up with him. He’d really thought that seeing her at the premiere, watching the movie with her, would bring back some of the good memories of the times they had shared over the summer. It certainly had for him.

But she’d still sent him packing, still told him she wanted nothing to do with him. It was only dumb luck that Chris had been in town again and had offered to take him out. Otherwise, Sebastian would probably be at home, alone and very drunk.

Instead he was with Chris, in some bar, yet still on his way to being very drunk. Sebastian sighed into his drink and slumped over the bar.

“Hey,” Chris said, as he approached Sebastian’s seat. “I thought we came out to take your mind off things, not sit and pout.”

Seb shot Chris a dirty look. He signaled the bartender to refill his drink. “I came out; I’m not sure what you expect me to do.” He slid the newly filled glass closer, curling his hand around it possessively. “Am I supposed to be dancing to this shitty music? Or trying to pick up those girls you were flirting with? I just got rejected for a second time by someone I love, I’m sorry if I’m not in a partying kind of mood.”

Chris feigned a hurt look. “This is not shitty music,” he said, rolling his arms in an attempted dance.

Sebastian rolled his eyes, holding back a snort.

“Besides, I’ve got a better idea,” Chris continued.

Sebastian looked at him over his drink. He took a swallow. “Yeah?”

“Come back with me to Boston. I’m gonna go home, visit my family, eat my mom’s cooking. It’s nice to just get away sometimes, ya know? Anyway, why don’t you come with me? I know everyone would love to see you.”

Sebastian hesitated, glass in hand.

“And if you don’t want to go back to your apartment and be alone tonight, come stay with me at my hotel. I’ve got a suite with two beds and I don’t snore… much.” He grinned. “It’ll be good for you, Seb.”

Sebastian knew Chris had a point. He finished his drink and set it on the bar. “OK, let’s do it.”

* * *

Felicia had been sitting on the steps of Sebastian’s apartment building for close to an hour. She didn’t know if he was ignoring her or if he was out, or if he was even in New York. Maybe instead of flying home he’d gone somewhere else.

She knew it must seem incredibly pathetic, sitting in the dark on the dirty steps of an apartment building in a strange city. She wasn’t sure what to do anymore. She hadn’t seen a cab drive by since the one that had dropped her off. She held the scrap of paper with Sebastian’s address written on it in her hands, folding it in half and opening it up repeatedly.

She pulled out her phone. It was late, too late to stay sitting there any longer. She didn’t know if she could get another flight home at this hour, but she knew she couldn’t stay there. She started searching for a number to call for a cab, when she heard a car pull up in front of the building.

Felicia looked up to see a cab coming to a stop near the curb. She stood, wondering if she could get a ride once whoever was inside had left the cab. She looked up and—

No, it couldn’t be. Was that Sebastian getting out of the cab? She waited, half hidden in the shadows.

"Hold the cab, Chris, I just gotta grab some clean clothes really quick,” she heard his familiar voice say.

He was going somewhere. This was it, this was her last chance. Felicia rushed forward. “Sebastian!” she called.

He froze in his tracks. She saw confusion on his face and he stepped forward, his steps slightly off balance. “Felicia?” he asked hesitantly.

She saw him rub a hand across his eyes in disbelief. His face crumpled and she could see him struggling for words.

Felicia wanted to run towards him throw her arms around him, kiss him. But this wasn’t like the movies, it was late, she’d been sitting here for hours… and he didn’t look sober. Finally she said, “It’s me.”

“You’re real, you’re really here?” he asked, closing the gap between them.

Felicia nodded. “I’m really here,” she said, reaching out to touch his face. He smelled like vodka and cigarette smoke but it didn’t matter.

“What? Why?” Sebastian shook his head. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here because of you. Because I love you. I wanted to catch you before your flight left, but I missed it. So I took the next available flight, and I didn’t have  your number, but I had your address. I came here, but you weren’t home. And I was going to leave. But you’re here now. You’re here,” she repeated.

The cab door opened, interrupting their moment. “Hey,” called a voice. “What’s going on out there? Are you coming or not Seb, the meter’s running here. Are you okay?”

Felicia peered over Sebastian’s shoulder. “Is that… Chris Evans?”

Sebastian turned back towards the cab. “Go on without me Chris. I’m okay. She’s here. Felicia’s here, Chris. And she loves me.” He turned towards Felicia. “You did say you loved me, I didn’t imagine that, did I?”

She looked at his face, lit by the soft glow of the streetlight. He looked utterly terrified, yet he still continued to stand there in the hope that she really did love him back. She knew he was drunk, but he just looked at her, unable to take his eyes off of her.

Then Felicia did throw her arms around Sebastian, because he was all that mattered in that moment. Coming here had been scary and reckless, but she did it anyway. She knew he loved her, and he needed her to still love him back.

 She straightened up and swallowed a breath. “I do. I love you, Sebastian. I love you and I want to be with you.” And then she held her breath, waiting for his response, praying that it would be what she wanted, what she needed to hear. She loved him so much that her heart might break.

Finally he answered, his voice rough, his words slow and deliberate. “I love you, Felicia. I love you too.” He drew her close, snaking an arm around her waist. He turned towards the waiting cab once again. “You can go now Evans. I’m not putting on a free show.”

Felicia heard a deep laugh and then the cab’s engine revved as it pulled away from the curb.

Sebastian led her to the door and inside the building. They spent the elevator ride in silence, both looking at each other in awe.

Sebastian unlocked the door to his apartment and Felicia followed him inside. He seemed steadier on his feet now, more sure of himself.

“God, Felicia.” He reached out and touched her face, his thumb sliding across her cheek. “This is real, right? I’m not dreaming?”

“It’s real. I’m really, actually here.” She smiled, watching the way his eyes lit up. She’d forgotten how much fun it was to talk with him, be with him, love him.

“I never thought you’d be standing here, in New York, in my apartment. I mean, I hoped… but then after we broke up—”

“I’ve regretted that ever since the words were out of my mouth. I’m sorry we wasted so much time. I wasted so much time on being stubborn, on being mad at you.”

“You had every right to be mad. I _was_ insensitive; I didn’t know how far this would go. How much it would affect you.”

“It was just as much my fault as it was yours. I knew dating a celebrity would be different. I was just so afraid of change, so afraid of stepping outside of what I was used to.”

“It shouldn’t have been like that, I should have found a better way to handle things from the beginning. I’m sorry.”

They were nose to nose, just a few inches apart. Felicia lowered her voice. “I’m sorry too,” she said, speaking softly. “Can we agree that we were both idiots and try and move on?”

Sebastian nodded, swallowing thickly. “But what about the distance? I can’t stay in Indiana with you. And you’ve made it clear before that you can’t stay here with me.”

Felicia smiled. “It doesn’t matter now. My aunts are selling the diner. I don’t have to stay in Ridgeville if I don’t want to.”

Sebastian returned her smile. “But do you want to?”

Felicia shook her head. “I want you. I want you to throw me against a wall so I can wrap my legs around your waist and kiss you. Kiss you until we have to stop to catch our breath. I want you and only you.”

His smile widened into a grin. “And I want you too, I want all of those things.”

Felicia kissed him then, her lips seeking out his in a familiar motion that still seemed thrilling and new. He kissed her back and she felt that thrill shoot through her just like the first time they had kissed. Only now they were alone, in his apartment in New York, hundreds and hundreds of miles away from the diner where they’d had their first real date.

Sebastian’s hands trembled as they circled around her waist. They did kiss each other breathless, finally breaking apart to gasp for air. He looked at her, his eyes filled with reverence. “I want to be yours and only yours. I want you and only you…”

Felicia brought a finger to Sebastian’s lips, shushing him gently. “You _are_ mine, and this time, I’m not letting you go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has read and commented and left kudos! We've finally reached the end and what a journey it was! 
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at [lovealetterbomb](http://lovealetterbomb.tumblr.com/)


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